John,

This week alternated between moments of unity and some of the toughest questioning Scott Morrison has had to deal with so far. It’s no surprise that the PM is so scared of ever getting into an actual debate with Labor. Here’s the #5and5:

BEST

1. Tackling domestic violence
2. ScoMo’s debate no-show
3. Congestion rorts
4. Backbench pressure
5. Unity in the Senate

WORST

1. Sports rorts scandal deepens
2. Morrison is up to his neck in it
3. Silencing debate
4. Super theft amnesty
5. The Price is Wrong

1. We started the week with the most powerful speeches for the worst reason. In response to a request from Anthony Albanese the government agreed to commence Question Time with speeches in honour of Hannah Clarke and her three young children Aaliyah, Laianah, and Trey who had been horrifically murdered in Brisbane. You can  watch Anthony Albanese’s speech here. A number of other Labor members also spoke before Question Time. The speeches were raw, and full of hurt and laced with a frustration and anger that we still have a woman murdered every week in this country by someone close to her.  Anne Aly gave a deeply personal interview which was published on Tuesday and then on Wednesday night a vigil was held. I’ve attached links to speeches from  Joanne Ryan,  Chris Hayes,  Sharon Claydon,  Graham Perrett,  Terri Butler,  Julie Collins,  Linda Burney. Anthony demanded the response needed to be more than nice words saying:

It's time, once again, to use the extent of this horrific act to get it through that we need to listen to those people who are impacted by family violence and to the experts. We need to learn. We desperately need to act. I do want to say that I think that we need to repel some of the attacks as well. We need to speak up when people make the sorts of comments—including in the aftermath of this tragedy—that are entirely inappropriate. We must repel attacks on the Family Court of Australia. The existence of a standalone specialist family court is a Labor legacy that we will defend. Whatever problems there are with the current family law system, the existence of a standalone specialist family court is not one of them. It is a necessary part of the solution. Government and opposition can work together on this. All of us, as members of parliament, have a role to play. The memory of Hannah Clarke and her three beautiful children must galvanise us all into further action to eliminate violence against women and children. We can't accept this as normal. We have it in us to be so much better. Lives depend on it, as we see all too often.

A vigil to remember Hannah Clarke and her three children. PHOTO: Mike Bowers / Guardian

2. Given Scott Morrison is doing everything he can to avoid ever having a head to head debate with Anthony Albanese, questions on Monday took the challenge to a new level. Albo challenged Scott Morrison to a debate at the National Press Club on climate change policies ahead of the Glasgow Conference later this year. For all his claims of fake confidence Morrison made it clear he won’t turn up to a debate this year if it’s against Anthony.

Albo wants to debate the PM on climate change. Morrison is refusing. PHOTO: Mike Bowers / Guardian

3. It’s hard to keep up with the list of rorts from this Government. The sports rorts have been dominating the headlines but there’s also a set of rorts in what’s called the urban congestion fund that are breathtaking. Labor’s Catherine King stood up as soon as Thursday kicked off to move for a debate on a scheme where the Government had allocated more than 83 percent of the $3 billion Urban Congestion Fund to Liberal seats and marginal seats targeted by the Liberal Party. The Government moved that she be no longer heard and shut the debate down.

4. There were some great examples this week of backbenchers putting pressure on the government over local issues. Emma McBride had a letter from the Aged Care Minister, Richard Colbeck, responding to her plea for assistance for a local nursing home at risk of shutting down. The response said the Government didn’t provide that sort of support. Except if you’re a National Party backbencher and the Deputy Prime Minister needs your vote -  then maybe they do. Emma pointed out that Damian Drum (a former future Deputy Speaker -  see previous email) had received hundreds of thousands of dollars for a nursing home in his electorate that has closed and is in liquidation.

The Government has also been trying to avoid reaching a settlement with people who have engaged in a class action relating to the historic use of PFAS chemicals at defence sites. Meryl Swanson raised the issue with the Prime Minister in Question Time on Tuesday. After years of no outcome, the Government announced it was reaching a settlement with the parties two days later.

5. I don’t want to give the individual concerned the attention she craves. So I’ll just make two points. One, no one is ever “driven to” murder. Two, Labor senators Penny Wong and Kristina Keneally moved that Bettina Arndt be stripped of her Australian honours and  it was carried with every Senator voting for it - except for Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts.

United … except for One Nation. PHOTO: Alex Ellinghausen / Nine

1. Wednesday and Thursday were a bit of a tag team between the House and Reps and the Senate as we tried to get hold of every possible detail on the sports rorts. Under questioning by Katy Gallagher, Don Farrell and Anthony Chisholm, Labor helped uncover key facts which show the scandal leads directly to the door of the Prime Minister’s Office. Here’s some of what we now know:

* Morrison claims he only passed on representations from Members of Parliament to Bridget McKenzie. FACT: There were actually 136 emails between the two offices about the projects.
* Morrison claims he had no oversight over the decisions. FACT: Bridget McKenzie sent the colour-coded spreadsheet which listed the projects to the Prime Minister for his approval before the final list was sent to Sport Australia.
* Morrison claims no ineligible projects were funded. FACT: 43 per cent of projects funded were not eligible, including one in the PM’s own electorate which had already been fully funded, built and officially opened – and then mysteriously received $50,000 of taxpayers’ money anyway.
* Morrison claims no rules were broken. FACT: The Minister’s office sent the instructions to the public servants to spend the money after the election had been called and in breach of the caretaker conventions.

2. Morrison’s demeanour in Question Time on Thursday had guilt written all over it. He was pummelled with questions from Anthony Albanese and he kept his answers brief, evasive and almost inaudible. The shoutiest man in the Parliament became the whisperer-in-chief. There’s plenty to come and every new piece of information pushes the scandal closer to the PM. This scheme was corrupt. You can see why they don’t want a National Integrity Commission.

Up to his neck in it. PHOTO: Mike Bowers / Guardian

3. The extent to which this Government silences debate is without precedent.  Have a look below at the growth of “the member be no longer heard” motions since Morrison became PM. He refuses every single debate. We have made clear to the Government that if they continue to shut down debate then we have nowhere to go but to do the same with their speakers. On Wednesday they shut down a debate about sports rorts and then became precious when the same thing happened straight back at them. I noticed yesterday Scott Morrison was all sanctimonious, claiming Labor had been mean to him by making him attend divisions. The response is simple: until they are willing to respect the Parliament as a place where both sides can debate, Labor will continue to use every procedural device to fight back.

4. One of the most common forms of wage theft is employers not paying superannuation for workers. On Monday in the Senate, the Government established an amnesty for employers who have broken the law and failed to pay these basic entitlements. Labor Senator Jenny McCallister hit back: “If you are an employee and you steal from your employer, you have the book thrown at you. The police will come around to your place. But, under this government’s plan, if you are an employer and you want to steal from an employee, no worries, so long as you say sorry.”

5. There are many mysteries in the world that will never be solved. That Melissa Price is a minister is among the most curious of these mysteries. After promising before the election Price would continue in the environment portfolio, the PM decided she wasn’t fit to look after the environment and instead put her in charge of ensuring the nation is properly defended. Apparently incompetence is okay if you’re put in charge of defending the nation. On Tuesday Richard Marles pursued questions about the appallingly low levels of Australian jobs associated with the submarines project. He asked the minister how she could justify counting nights staying in a Barossa Valley resort and the work of a French Language School Alliance Francaise d’Adelaide as part of Australian content in the Future Submarines. Turns out she couldn’t.

Next week the House is sitting and the Senate has Estimates. It will be a huge week.

‘til then,

Tony

P.S. Song of the week is one I’ve shared before but it can’t be avoided this week. It’s one of the most devastating and powerful songs I know. In writing it, Alex the Astronaut spent time with survivors of family violence and used their words to tell a story that needs to be told as much as it needs to be stopped. The song is called “I Like to Dance”.