Australia politics live: Dutton calls for border closure with Indonesia over foot-and-mouth disease; Greens back abolition of building watchdog

Peter Hannam

A busy few days ahead on the economics front, with the ABS due to release its June quarter CPI figures on Wednesday.

It feels like a long time ago that the March quarter numbers landed right in the middle of the formal election campaign, with the “headline” or raw numbers coming in at an annual rate of 5.1%.

That number was large enough to raise immediately the prospect of the first rate rise by the RBAthat duly landed the following Tuesday, damaging the Morrison government’s case that it was a strong economic manager.
The central bank subsequently lifted its cash rate at its June and July board meetings and investors are already speculating that another large rate hike is coming at its August gathering next week almost regardless of what the June CPI numbers look like:

As it is, the main inflation question seems to be how well the RBA’s prediction that the CPI peaking at 7% will go. Economists are tipping the June number will come in at more than 6%, but if anything, the forecasts (including the RBA’s) have been underestimating the price rises so far and may fall short again.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is due to release his statement on the economy on Thursday. He will be waiting for what those Australian inflation numbers before finishing his script but will also will have an eye on what the US Federal Reserve – America’s central bank equivalent – does Thursday morning, our time. Another big rate rise in the US will have flow-on effects globally.

Energy prices, meanwhile, are likely to remain highly influential for inflation at home and abroad. While petrol and diesel prices have another couple of months to run with the 22.1 cents excise discount (unless Chalmers extends it), wholesale electricity prices remain highly elevated – and are likely to remain so particularly in NSW for quite a while yet.

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 32 deaths from Covid-19:

ACT

• Deaths: 0
• Cases: 790
• In hospital: 162 (with 1 person in ICU)

NSW

• Deaths: 7
• Cases: 10,769
• In hospital: 2,329 (with 58 people in ICU)

Northern Territory

• Deaths: 0
• Cases: 334
• In hospital: 70 (with 1 person in ICU)

Queensland

• Deaths: 0
• Cases: 6,109
• In hospital: 1,024 (with 28 people in ICU)

South Australia

• Deaths: 19
• Cases: 3,363
• In hospital: 384 (with 11 people in ICU)

Tasmania

• Deaths: 2
• Cases: 1,025
• In hospital: 49 (with 2 people in ICU)

Victoria

• Deaths: 0
• Cases: 10,261
• In hospital: 855 (with 35 people in ICU)

Western Australia

• Deaths: 4
• Cases: 3,856
• In hospital: 432 (with 24 people in ICU)

Scott Morrison issues statement on absence from parliament sitting

Paul Karp

The former prime minister and current member for Cook, Scott Morrison, has issued a statement explaining why he is not attending parliament this sitting week.

Morrison said:

Prior to the new government advising the sitting schedule for the remainder of 2022, I had already accepted an invitation to join other former Prime Ministers from Canada, the UK and New Zealand to address an international event to be held in Tokyo this week. As a consequence I will be unable to attend the first three sitting days of the new Parliament this week.

Both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition were advised of my intended travel and absence from the Parliament this week.

While in Tokyo, in addition to making an address on the role of the Quad in promoting stability in the Indo-Pacific, I will be holding a series of meetings with Japanese political and business leaders and will have the opportunity to join other former leaders to express my condolences for the passing of Prime Minister Abe following his assassination.

I will return to Australia to be present in the Parliament on August 1, 2022.

Crossbenchers leave staffing meeting empty-handed

Paul Karp

A group of metropolitan crossbench MPs including Zali Steggall, Dai Le, Kate Chaney, Sophie Scamps, Kylea Tink, and Zoe Daniel met the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, this morning to discuss the staffing cuts.

Guardian Australia understands the MPs have left empty-handed, with no softening of the cuts.

Albanese indicated he may revisit the issue after the review of the Members of Parliament Staff Act, due by 30 September. There’s also a suggestion that electorate office allowances might be increased, to allow EO staff to travel to parliament during sitting weeks more often.

On Friday we revealed that One Nation senators Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts and senator David Pocock had their staffing allocation upped from five to six. The Jacqui Lambie Network’s senators are expected to get the same.

The United Australia party’s Ralph Babet has also written to the prime minister.

Daniel said:

I will work with the staff I’ve got. I thank the prime minister for his time and his readiness to consider this matter further. I look forward to further constructive conversations with him on this and other matters.

A spokeswoman for Tink said:

Kylea was happy to have the opportunity to meet with the PM today. We’re moving forward with the staffing we’ve been allocated and just getting on with the job.

Your questions answered: why are they called the Liberal party?

Rafqa Touma

Why is the Liberal party called the Liberal party?

Google says the word “liberal” means progressive. So Australia’s major conservative party being called the Liberal party can get a bit confusing.

The word liberal comes from the latin word liber, which means free. (It sounds a bit like our English word, liberty.) But different philosophies and governments around the world have different ideas of what exactly is free.

In America, people think liberalism equals progressive, democratic, even socialist. It is about personal freedom, and the liberties and rights of the individual. That is social liberalism, aka freedom for people.

In Australia, our Liberal party is more aligned with economic liberalism, aka freedom for business. Economic liberalism is all about protecting property rights, resolving market failures, and free trade across borders.

The Australian Liberal party developed out of conservative parties that formed in the early 20th century to oppose the growing strength of trade unions and the Labor party (which is our more centre, and by American definition, liberal party).

In short, the word “liberal” doesn’t have to mean socially progressive because America says so.

Here is what Robert Menzies, the father of the Liberal party had to say about it:

… what we must look for, and it is a matter of desperate importance to our society, is a true revival of liberal thought which will work for social justice and security, for national power and national progress, and for the full development of the individual citizen, though not through the dull and deadening process of socialism.

Your questions answered: bills and laws

Rafqa Touma

What is a bill?

A bill is basically a proposal for a new law, or a change to an existing law. But before actually becoming law, it has to successfully make its way through a pretty long process.

Bills can come about in different ways – from parliamentary committees set up to examine an issue, or a government department coming across a problem and drafting a bill with their minister to fix it, to community groups or businesses approaching members of parliament with suggestions.

A bill is first introduced into either the House of Representatives or Senate, and has to be passed by a majority vote in both chambers.

If successful, it is signed by the governor general – this is the royal assent, and is the last step before the bill becomes law. Then the bill is known as an Act of Parliament, which will give a date that the new law will begin its duties as law.

Sounds simple enough, but it can take years for a bill to pass through parliament.

How bills become laws

To actually pass through the House of Representatives, to the Senate, and then to the governor general, bills go through lots of different readings.

In the House of Reps, the first reading is when the bill is introduced.

The second reading is when members debate and vote on the bill’s main ideas.

Then – after public inquiries into the bill, reports tabled back to the House, and more detailed consideration over any changes made – the third reading is when members vote on the bill in its final form.

Then to the Senate it goes. Again, the first reading is when the bill is introduced. The second is when senators debate and vote on the bill’s main ideas. Then come more public inquiries and reports and detailed consideration until finally, the third reading, when senators vote on the final bill.

If passed in the Senate, it arrives at the governor general’s desk for its royal assent.