Senator urges PM ‘don’t suck up’ to Trump – as it happened​on February 10, 2025 at 7:59 am

It’s time to wrap up our live news coverage for the day – and what a day in parliament it’s been. Here’s what’s been keeping us busy:

• Anthony Albanese said he will discuss sweeping new steel and aluminium tariffs in a scheduled phone call with Donald Trump.

• While the opposition questioned Kevin Rudd’s ability to secure an exemption from the tariffs, Richard Marles gave his resounding support to the ambassador to the US.

• Jacqui Lambie, on the other hand, said talk of Rudd’s role was a distraction and that Albanese should not “suck up” or “play bloody Trump’s bluff”.

• In question time, the opposition attempted to silence Mary Dreyfus while making an emotional speech about antisemitism. The motion against the Jewish attorny general failed. Lambie called the moment a “disgrace”.

• Mark Latham is appealing the finding that he defamed the NSW independent MP Alex Greenwich.

• Barnaby Joyce denied he’s being sidelined during the election campaign.

• And, finally, the PM delivered the annual Closing the Gap statement. The independent senator Lidia Thorpe called the failure to hit targets over the last 12 months “a year of betrayal”.

As ever, thank you for joining us. We’ll be back with more live political coverage first thing tomorrow.

The North Sydney MP, Kylea Tink, says the teals have defied the major party doomsayers who claimed parliament would descend into chaos if they were elected.

Tink farewelled parliament on Monday less than three years after she entered it, with her federal political career cut short after her seat was abolished in a boundary redistribution.

The former McGrath foundation chief executive has ruled out running for a Senate seat or contesting the nearby electorate of Bradfield.

With dozens of “Tink Pink” supporters watching on from the public gallery, Tink said the teal independents had proven the doubters wrong.

During the election of 2022, those in the traditional two-party system touted the rise of community independents as a risk to stability and predictability, and we’re hearing those threats thrown around again today.

They argue that without party domination, our Parliament will descend into chaos.

Well … we’ve proven them wrong during this term – and rather than chaos, people like me have brought a level of debate and consideration to parliament that has not been seen since the earliest days as a democracy.

Tink lamented that despite the momentum for change that capitulated her and the fellow teals to Canberra in 2022, the nation was struggling to make progress on critical issues such as climate change and inequality.

And yet she remained hopeful.

So while many of my experiences in the last three years would suggest our current political frame has sunk to a place where opposition, for opposition’s sake, is all that matters, I have hope.

Hope that is driven by the understanding that any government derives its power and authority from the people. In this way, democracy is not reserved for, or an entitlement of, certain parties, groups, or individuals.

Fletcher calls for earlier question time and road-user charge for EVs in final speech to parliament

From bringing forward question time to introducing a road-user charge for electric vehicles, the Liberal MP, Paul Fletcher, gave his colleagues and counterparts a suite of ideas to consider as he farewelled the federal parliament.

Fletcher was among four MPs to deliver valedictory speeches on Monday, signing off after a 16-year career in Canberra.

Speaking as a former minister and manager of opposition business, Fletcher recommended bringing forward question time to make parliament run smoother.

Having question time at 2pm is inefficient.

So much time is spent across this building every day preparing for possible questions in ministers’ offices and working out questions to ask another office.

It should be at 11am with the standing orders providing for it to conclude automatically by 12.30pm at the latest.

Fletcher said fixed four-year electoral terms should be a “no-brainer”, arguing the existing system stymied policy development.

The senior Liberal moderate also advocated the introduction of a road-user charge on electric vehicles and a scheme allowing retirees to use their superannuation to buy an annuity from the commonwealth.

He saved his harshest words for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, describing it as a victim of “poor, ill-disciplined, wasteful policy design”.

There is a lot of work needed to fix this.

Deputy PM backs ‘force of nature’ Kevin Rudd to negotiate on US tariffs

When asked if Kevin Rudd was the right person to negotiate trade tariffs with Donald Trump, the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, unequivocally backed the ambassador to the US and former PM.

Explaining his support for Rudd to the ABC, Marles said:

Well, firstly, he is a very skilled diplomat – that’s been his long-term career. He is a force of nature in terms of the energy that he brings to bear here. As a former prime minister, he carries an enormous amount of gravitas.

But perhaps the ultimate answer to that question is look at the record of what he has achieved in terms of our engagement with the Trump administration since they were sworn in just a few weeks ago: upfront meetings really quickly with Australia, ahead of other countries in the key portfolios [of] foreign affairs, defence, a very early phone call between our prime minister and the president.

Mark Latham is appealing against the finding that he defamed the NSW independent MP Alex Greenwich.

In September, the former federal Labor leader and NSW One Nation leader was ordered by the federal court to pay Greenwich $140,000 in damages over a vulgar tweet sent during the 2023 state election.

Greenwich launched the defamation action against Latham after the former federal Labor leader posted an allegedly offensive, homophobic tweet on 30 March 2023 before giving several interviews repeating the comments and making claims about his parliamentary colleague.

Latham deleted the initial tweet, which was made in response to an article in which Greenwich called him a “disgusting human being”. The article was about LGBTQ+ protesters outside an event Latham was speaking at shortly before the NSW election.

In response, Latham said “disgusting?”, and made comments about a sexual act that Guardian Australia has chosen not to publish in full.

AAP reports that Latham has retained solicitor Zali Burrows – who has also represented the ex-deputy mayor Salim Mehajer and former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann – to appeal these findings, including the amount the court wants him to hand over.

Lambie calls Coalition attempt to silence Dreyfus an ‘absolute disgrace’

Continuing with a riled-up Jacqui Lambie, who says that today’s attempt to silence Mark Dreyfus in parliament was a “disgrace, absolute disgrace”.

Speaking with the ABC, she said the Coalition “won’t win the election” because they are “going straight to the nasties already”.

We’re not even through our second sitting week. There is no room for politics. People are sick of it … their behaviour is disgraceful.

If anyone’s playing politics … it is the Liberal party and, quite frankly, they should be ashamed of themselves.

Antisemitism in our community a great concern, departing MP Vamvakinou says

Continuing with Maria Vamvakinou’s final speech for a moment, and the Labor MP, who has been a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause over her two decades in parliament, says everyone who believes in human rights and international law should be critical of the state of Israel.

But she adds recent antisemitic incidents in our back yard also cannot be ignored.

Vamvakinou said:

I have been critical of the state of Israel over the years, as anyone and everyone who believes in human rights and international law should be. But I have a great affection for the Jewish people and the current wave of antisemitism in our country is of great concern to me.

The horrors of civilian deaths in Gaza and the destruction of Gaza cannot go unnoticed, and it begs outrage – rightfully so – but we cannot ignore the extremities that are happening in our own community. These acts are conducted, as usual, by anonymous cowards who harbour dark intentions that have little to do with Palestine.

Equally, those who seek to exploit antisemitism for their own interest should exercise restraint, responsibility, and civil diligence, for they sow the seeds of hatred and division.

Jacqui Lambie says talk of Kevin Rudd in the context of Donald Trump’s fresh tariffs and the Aukus deal is “irrelevant” and advises Anthony Albanese not to “suck up”.

Speaking with the ABC this afternoon, the senator said:

He’s an ambassador. For God’s sake, we have a prime minister, a defence minister here. Get them to do the job. Isn’t it supposed to be their job wheeling and dealing?

[America] need[s] Australia more than what we need them, and they need our critical minerals. So if Trump wants to play with Australia, I suggest you start getting your cowboy hats on and start playing because, quite seriously, we are worth a hell of a lot more than what they are to us. They need us. So you stand on him and tell them we’re not playing this tariff game, mate.

… And if you’re talking about our national security and defence, put that first instead of bloody tariffs, this is way out of an ambassador’s hands. This has got to be dealt with by the prime minister and by the deputy prime minister, and they need to be staring him down the barrel.

Don’t play bloody Trump’s bluff. Don’t play it. You don’t move Albo, don’t you move on him. Don’t you dare.

Don’t suck up.

Vamvakinou warns against weaponising immigration in final speech to parliament

We have a whirlwind of final speeches in the lower house this afternoon. Next up is the Calwell MP, Maria Vamvakinou, who is delivering her valedictory almost 24 years after she first joined parliament representing Melbourne’s north-western suburbs.

The Labor left MP’s final speech centres on celebrating multiculturalism and warning against politicians who weaponise immigration for political gain.

Vamvakinou joined parliament in 2001, shortly after the 11 September attacks in the US and the Tampa affair.

The Labor MP, who is of Greek background, said “talk is cheap. Politicisation of conflict is dangerous.”

She added:

In the 23 years that I have sat in this parliament the weaponisation of immigration, refugees and multiculturalism has not helped social cohesion, it has threatened it.

Aluminium sector reacts to Trump’s tariff plans

Australia’s aluminium producers say they are “working to understand” the impact of Donald Trump’s proposed 25% tariffs on the country’s top manufacturing export in a volatile day for the metals sector.

Australia exports about 10% of its annual average 1.5m tonnes of aluminium production to the US each year.

The chief executive of the Australian Aluminium Council, Marghanita Johnson, said:

It’s early days and we are still working to understand the impact of any potential tariffs on Australia’s trade portfolio.

We will continue working with the Australian government and its representatives on this important issue.

Trump told reporters on Monday he would impose tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the US on top of existing metal duties. Anthony Albanese has said he will make the case for “free and fair trade” with America in an upcoming call with the US president.

Shares in aluminium producer South32 were down 1.5% by late afternoon, as traders weighed up the fallout from the tariff announcement.

Steel producers had a mixed day on the ASX, with BlueScope, which has operations in the US, rising by 2%. Shares in steel fabricator, Bisalloy, were down sharply.

Labor will continue to push Australia’s interests on tariffs, Marles says

Richard Marles says the government “will continue to advance Australia’s interests in relation to trade” as news of Donald Trump’s 25% steel and aluminium tariffs reverberates.

Speaking with Patricia Karvelas, host of Afternoon Briefing, the deputy PM said:

Firstly, obviously from an Australian point of view, as an island trading nation with an increasing proportion of our national wealth being derived from trade, we support a freer trading environment around the world.

Secondly, specifically in relation to our relationship with the United States, the US-Australia free trade agreement has been enormously beneficial to both countries since it’s been in place, and has seen a growth in our respective trade in the favour of the United States.

… None of this is a surprise … The policies of the Trump administration were clear during the course of the US election, and so we’ve been making this argument consistently to them, and since they’ve been sworn in.

He said the Australian “people should be assured that we are advocating to the greatest possible extent to the US and to the Trump administration, about Australia’s interests”.

Perrett makes passionate call for reconciliation in final speech to parliament

The Labor MP Graham Perrett has used his final speech in federal parliament to issue a passionate cry for reconciliation and argue the case for an Australian republic.

Just hours after Anthony Albanese delivered the annual Closing the Gap statement, the Queenslander offered a reassuring message to Indigenous Australians after the defeat of the voice to parliament referendum in 2023.

Taking a swipe at the Coalition for weaponising the advisory body during the campaign, Perrett said “hope and love will trump fear and division”.

Of course, I respect the democratic decision of the public, because I’m passionate about democracy, and I believe in democracy, but I also believe in justice.

So soon, in the context of 5,000 generations, does not mean tomorrow, but soon is better than never. Soon we will have a reconciled nation, that change is going to come.

Perrett also expressed hope that Australia would eventually become a republic – another change that would require a referendum.

I refuse to believe that no Australian is good enough to be our head of state. It won’t ever be easy to change this document. (But) I know the harder fought, the better won.

Perrett has represented the Brisbane-based seat of Moreton since 2007.

Labor moves to extend Senate hours for production tax credits bill

In the Senate, Labor is moving a motion to extend the hours of the chamber, and it looks like they want a vote on the production tax credits bill tonight.

The production tax credits have been a big priority for the government this week – to get there, the motion also seeks to limit debate on the legislation.

That bill will be voted on at 8pm, with the motion also specifying the Senate should vote on the Defence Service Homes amendment (insurance) bill after that at 9pm.