AFP boss questioned about PM’s knowledge of Dural caravan – as it happened​on February 6, 2025 at 6:39 am

Tanya Plibersek gets another question from the opposition on the nature positive bill. This time it’s from Nationals leader David Littleproud, who asks if she would rule out introducing a future environmental protection bill.

Plibersek again says its a “shame” the bill didn’t pass the Senate. The government has pulled the legislation from the Senate notice paper, but says it was “necessary” and “sensible” reform.

Professor Graeme Samuel was selected by the previous government to report on our environmental laws and what did he find? He found that those laws either working for business and not working for nature.

We’re getting a whole range of dixers today, the next one goes to Matt Keogh, the veterans’ affairs minister, on how the government is improving the lives of veterans.

Keogh goes to the proposed cuts to the public service that the opposition has raised, and says some of the new public service hires by the government have been frontline workers in the department of veterans’ affairs:

The Leader of the Opposition has been saying workers who provide government services are government waste and he has been saying that he wants to cut the 36,000 public service roles. But when the Liberals left office, DVA was under resourced and there was some 42,000 veteran claims that were not even being looked at by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs which meant that veterans were waiting for years to have their claims processed.

Independent MP Zoe Daniel gets the next crossbench question. She asks for an update on the investigation into alcohol poisoning that killed two Australian girls in Laos last year, Holly Moreton Bowles and Bianca Jones. The two girls lived in Daniel’s electorate of Goldstein in Melbourne.

Deputy prime minister Richard Marles answers, saying the Laos government hasn’t taken up an offer from the Australian federal police to support the investigation.

This is an investigation which is being undertaken by the authorities in Laos. The Australian Federal Police have made an offer to the authorities in Laos to provide their assistance in the investigation and there is a whole lot of capability that the Australian Federal Police could bring to bear in terms of this investigation. I have to report, sadly to the house, that, at this point, the Laos authorities have not taken up that invitation…

The Minister for Foreign Affairs has spoken to her counterpart in Laos and made clear that it is the expectation of the Australian government that there be a thorough investigation into these events, into this crime and that the perpetrators be found.

The next dixer goes to industry minister Ed Husic on how the government is helping job security for regional communities that make aluminium.

Husic says the government is supporting blue collar jobs, and gives a nod to the $2bn announcement for green aluminium that the government made last month.

It is an incredible opportunity and a big deal. We have the resources, the people and we have got the ability to add value across the breadth of the supply chain, we have the smelters. The Australian aluminium council says our investment is globally significant.

Sussan Ley gets the next question, and asks environment minister Tanya Plibersek if she still wants “a Federal Environmental Protection Agency, including in Western Australia?”

There’s a bit of back and forth between Plibersek and Peter Dutton over calling Sussan Ley the deputy leader of the opposition, and she calls Dutton “agro” for repeatedly interrupting her.

She then continues:

We made very clear through our Nature Positive plan and through our laws that we wanted to see progress. Progress to deliver stronger protection for nature and progress to provide faster, clearer decisions for business. There is no business in the country that believes the environment laws are working to progress projects quickly and there is no environmental organisation or anyone with any common sense that thinks that our laws are working to protect nature effectively either.

She blames the coalition and Greens again for not supporting the bill, though WA Premier Roger Cook has publicly said he doesn’t want to see the bill pass.

King spruiks $7.2bn for Bruce highway after dixer on Queensland road safety improvements

Infrastructure minister Catherine King is given a dixer on improving road safety in Queensland.

King mentions the $7.2bn commitment Labor made to the Bruce highway and that the government will support rebuilding infrastructure destroyed in the floods.

I want to assure the house [that] the Albanese government is working closely with the Queensland government to ensure that we get that freight route up as soon as possible and that we have a long-term resilience solution for that stretch of road and we have seen the prime minister is there today.

She then delves into where the opposition would cut spending to pay for their nuclear plan. She also mentions tax-free lunches.

Taylor presses Chalmers on insurance costs since last election

Angus Taylor asks Chalmers whether insurance costs have risen 19% since the last election.

Chalmers says the impacts of natural disasters, like in north Queensland now, are affecting insurance premiums:

Insurance has been one of the big drivers of the inflation challenge in our economy. And even as we’ve made some really quite substantial progress in a lot of the other categories, and insurance, I think from memory, came off a little bit in the most recent data, it is still a big and prominent part of the CPI.

Chalmers challenges Taylor to tell the house what else should be done to reduce inflation premiums.

Jason Clare: we will cut student debt, opposition will cut price of ‘croquembouche for bosses’

It’s time for another dixer, and this time, we are going from childcare to higher education and the government’s promise to cut student debt if it wins the next election.

The education minister, Jason Clare, spruiks the election promise and provides our third reference to tax-free lunches for today, which gets picked up by the opposition, and is asked by Milton Dick not to stray too far.

He continues anyway:

If we win the election, Mr speaker, we will cut student debt by 20% and that will leave 3 million Australians better off. If they win the election, if they won’t get that, they will be worse off … the opposition leader says that he thinks $1.6bn on bosses’ lunches is an efficient use of taxpayers’ money. Doesn’t say that about Medicare, doesn’t say that about childcare but apparently cut price croquembouche for bosses, that is, chef kiss.

Chalmers on attack after Taylor baits on gas prices

Angus Taylor is up again flinging another question to Jim Chalmers, this time about gas prices:

Can the treasurer confirmed the cost of gas has risen 34% during Labor’s cost of living crisis since the election of the Albanese Labor government?

Chalmers goes straight on the attack:

Imagine asking about gas prices when they came in here at the end of our first year we were in government and voted against our gas caps? Imagine being so slow on the uptake … that he comes in here and asks about gas prices – when Australians needed you to act on gas prices, you are nowhere to be found.

Chalmers is then pulled up on a point of order. Milton Dick asks the treasurer to stop straying too much into “alternative policy”, i.e. focus on the government’s policy, not on the opposition.

Chalmers continues on the attack:

[It’s an] inconvenient fact for the shadow treasurer, who was very unhappy when inflation went down again last Wednesday and is expressing his unhinged unhappiness today in the chamber, Mr speaker.

Anne Aly answers dixer plugging government’s childcare reforms

Staying on cost of living, the next dixer goes to Anne Aly on the government’s childcare policy.

Aly mentions wage rises for childcare workers and the new bill she introduced that guarantees three days of childcare for all families.

However, that bill was sent to an inquiry earlier today, so it won’t pass this fortnight.

We are investing $1bn to help build the early learning services in the regions and in the suburbs where children are currently missing out. Our three-day guarantee, which I introduced into parliament yesterday, ensures every child has access to 72 hours a fortnight of early learning, regardless of their parent’s activity. We have made significant progress on our reforms.

Monique Ryan to PM: is dropping EPA how ‘climate wars end’?

The first crossbench question goes to independent MP Monique Ryan, who asks:

On 21 May 2022 in his victory speech, the prime minister said, “Together we can end the climate wars.” Yesterday your government dropped – moved to drop – the Environmental Protection Agency off the Senate bill. I ask you, minister, is this how the climate wars end?

Environment minister Tanya Plibersek blames the Coalition and the Greens for the nature positive laws not passing.

I think Greens political party voters would be surprised to learn that the political party that purports to stand up for the environment wasn’t prepared to vote for a strong new cop on the beat, an Environment Protection Agency with strong new powers and penalties. They weren’t prepared to vote for better data, more transparency and a world first definition of nature positive. I think that the Liberals and Nationals voters would be surprised to know that those opposite voted against faster approvals for projects, based on better data and more regional planning.

For more context on how the nature positive bill went down, have a read of this piece by my colleague Dan Jervis-Bardy:

Chalmers: only way opposition can fund ‘nuclear insanity’ is to cut Medicare

The next dixer goes to Jim Chalmers, again on how the government is providing cost of living support.

Chalmers is pushing the opposition on what cuts the Coalition will make if it wins government.

All they have got is secret costs and secret cuts. They have got a slogan that says they want to go back, take Australia backwards. The truth of that is if he gets back, Australians go backwards. The only way that he can find $350bn in cuts, the only way they can find $600bn to pay for this nuclear insanity, is to come after Medicare again, to come after hospitals, to come after housing again, to come after wages and pensions again.

He also uses the opportunity to bring up tax-free lunches for a second time this QT.

Angus Taylor has a turn at pressing treasurer on cost of living crisis

The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, is up again for the second opposition question.

He asks if Chalmers will confirm that “housing rents have risen 17% during Labor’s cost of living crisis since the election of the Albanese Labor Government?”

Within a few seconds of Chalmers standing up, speaker Milton Dick calls on the government benches to stop giving “a running commentary on what you think of the question”.

Chalmers then answers:

I can confirm that rents would be higher were it not for our Commonwealth rent assistance. I would remind the house again that when this side of the house was there for Australian renters, those opposite described two permanent increases in Commonwealth rent assistance as a sugar hit and wasteful spending. It is another welcome opportunity to remind the house and the people at home that when those opposite talk about $50bn in wasteful spending, included in that is investment in housing and the two consecutive increases in Commonwealth rent assistance.

Cost of living again focus of today’s dixers

Same as Tuesday and Wednesday, today’s dixers in question time are fully focused on cost of living.

The first dixer is from former dolphin trainer turned WA MP Sam Lim, who flings it to Richard Marles.

Marles lists off their cost of living policies.

We have made medicines cheaper, we made childcare more affordable, we provided energy bill relief to every Australian. We’ve got wages going [up] again.

For good measure, he brings up the tax-free lunch policy at the end.

Sukkar and Chalmers trade figures on food prices

Michael Sukkar, the manager of opposition business, stands up with a point of order:

The question was very tight, the question asked the treasurer how much food prices were up since the election of the government, not the last 12 months, since the election of the government, and if the treasurer doesn’t know the answer is 12%.

Chalmers replies, going back to his previous figures:

Food inflation is currently half what it was when we came to office …

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as unhappy as the shadow treasurer on the day last week when inflation came down again on the bottom half of the Reserve Bank target band.

We’re now on to questions.

Angus Taylor has the first one for Jim Chalmers:

Can the treasurer tell Australians by what percentage the cost of food has gone up during Labor’s cost-of-living crisis since the election of the Albanese Labor government.

This is similar to Sussan Ley’s question for the prime minister yesterday.

Chalmers says Taylor has “nerve” to ask him about cost of living, and repeats the figures the PM gave.

The nerve of these characters asking about the cost of living after they opposed all of our efforts to help Australians with the cost of living. Now, if you had been there for Australians when we wanted to give them tax cuts, energy bill relief, cheaper early childhood education, cheaper medicines, better wages, help with rent …

As the prime minister said in response to this question … if you look at the last year of food inflation it is 3%, if you look at the last year under those opposite it was 5.9%.

House commemorates former defence minister who died last month

As the prime minister is in Townsville, the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is in the hot seat today.

Before questions begin, the House is commemorating former defence minister John Colinton Moore who died on 22 January.

Marles and opposition leader Peter Dutton both pay their respects.

Video: Dutton calls for inquiry into what Albanese knew about explosive-laden caravan

We’re approaching the final question time for this first sitting week.

In the meantime, we have a video of Peter Dutton’s press conference earlier calling for an inquiry into when the PM was made aware of the caravan full of explosives: