5&5: Jim’s barber

We’ve been so busy delivering in Parliament that we ran out of time to do the 5&5 last week. Better late than never. Covering last week and this week’s Senate-only sitting.

Here’s the 5&5.

BEST

  1. Putting the ‘care’ into aged care

  2. Protecting our kids online

  3. More women in Parliament

  4. Jim’s barber

  5. Pay rises for workers

WORST

  1. Opposition cuts

  2. Advice for Bridget McKenzie

  3. All talk

  4. Housing block

  5. The Earl of Grey

2.  Last week the Prime Minister also announced the Albanese Labor Government will legislate a minimum age for social media to keep children safe. This legislation is all about making sure our kids are protected online, as the PM put it “The Government may not be able to stop every threat on social media but we have a responsibility to do everything we can to help as many young Australians as we can.”

3. This month we marked 30 years since the Labor Party’s historic decision to introduce quotas for women, at the 1994 National Conference. Today, Australia’s first ever female majority government keeps delivering results, including reducing the gender pay gap to 11.5 per cent. As Chief Whip Joanne Ryan observed, the Liberal Party still has a long way to go. “As we celebrate the progress made within our own ranks, it’s disheartening to see fewer women on the coalition benches than when I joined this Parliament. In fact, while Labor has gone from strength to strength since 1994, in this Parliament the Liberal Party has recorded its lowest female representation since 1993. It’s a stark reminder that the fight for gender equality is far from over.”

4. Nicky, a local barber in Treasurer Chalmer’s electorate, recently did some media. Unfortunately, his comments were misrepresented. Sussan Ley tried to turn it into a gotcha moment in question time but it backfired for her. Jim said: “Nicky rang me yesterday mortified that he had somehow given a different impression to the impression that he wanted to give. But I reassured him that, if those opposite read to the end of the story—and it doesn't appear that they have—this is what Nicky said about me and the state Treasurer of Queensland: 'How good is it? Two Logan boys are running the finances for the country and Queensland. They understand…they see the struggle,' he said. 'I know Jim and Cameron are doing such a great job… those two boys, two big bosses, are doing the best they can to ease the cost of living for people.'”

5.. Two weeks after we introduced a Bill to deliver strong wage increases for early childhood educators across Australia, the Greens were trying to pretend we do nothing for those same workers. Senator Murray Watt summed it up perfectly: “No government in Australia's history has done more to support early childhood education and care than the Albanese Labor government. We have agreed to fund a much-deserved pay rise for early education and care workers of 15 per cent, starting in December this year and we have provided support to make child care cheaper and more accessible to Australian families whether people live in the cities or in the regions.”

1. The Liberals and Nationals spent a decade in Government trying to keep wages low. In Opposition they’ve done everything they can to block our measures that help deliver pay rises. Now they’re promising to cut pay if they win the next election. In a speech at the Minerals Week gathering, Peter Dutton pledged to roll back our ground breaking industrial relations changes, including scrapping our Same Job, Same Pay laws. That would mean massive pay cuts – up to $30,000 - for many Australian workers, from miners to flight attendants.

2. Bridget McKenzie announced the Coalition wanted powers to force the divestiture of Qantas and Jetstar. An hour later David Littleproud said it wasn’t actually Coalition policy. Peter Dutton sent Senator McKenzie out to clean up the confusion but all she did was contradict herself and create more confusion. Catherine King managed to keep track of the situation and had some great advice, “Yesterday we had Senator McKenzie agreeing with herself in the morning, disagreeing with herself by the afternoon and then agreeing with herself again by the evening. Senator McKenzie gives plenty of advice to everybody else, including to those opposite. Here's some in return: when you're in a big hole, stop digging!”

3. The Greens’ Max Chandler-Mather is always quick to criticise the Government’s work to address the housing crisis. As the PM pointed out – he says he cares about housing, but never takes any opportunity to actually vote for it. “If you want more social homes, vote for them. If you want more rental properties, vote for them. If you want more private homeownership, vote for it. It's pretty simple. Renee Coffey understands that, and I was very honoured to launch her campaign in Griffith. Renee Coffey wants more homes because that will mean more doors that she can knock on!”

4. On Wednesday the Liberals, Greens and One Nation banded together to block 40,000 Australians from being able to buy their own home. To say that it was disappointing is an understatement. I think Penny Wong captured how we all felt: “They're actually saying no to home ownership for Australians on low and middle incomes. That's the core value that the Liberal Party are defending—saying no to the dreams of young people across the country: 'No, you can't own your own home. No, we don't want to build more houses. No, we don't want social and affordable housing. No, we don't want to support Australians who need it. No, we don't want more houses and more people to own their own homes.'”

5. The award for the best interjection goes to the Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones – who proclaimed “Earl Grey” when Manager of Opposition Business Paul Fletcher rose to his feet during Question Time last week.

Something else really important happened last week that I want to mention. On Monday Richard Marles tabled the final report from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veterans Suicide. Richard Marles and Matt Keogh both spoke both on this and I highly recommend watching.

The House won’t sit again until October.

‘til then,

Tony

PS. Song of the week is Khe Sanh by Cold Chisel.

Tony Burke