The Point Live: Sussan Ley finishes off worst week as leader so far. As it happened

Murray Watt has spent most of his life making deals, both as a lawyer and then backroom wrangler for Labor factions, before he was in the senate. So when he says this in answer to ‘how are negotiations going’ he is deliberately wanting to stir some things up:

What those parties are saying to me behind closed doors is a little bit more moderate than the rhetoric they carry on in the media, you would expect that.

As I say I’m hopeful over the next fortnight both of those parties can really focus, put aside some of their internal issues or the game-playing they like to get up to, and really narrow down the number of issues that are deal breakers for them. We cannot keep going around in circles with these laws while we see our environment go backwards and while we see housing and renewable projects held up in red tape.

The counterfactual is true though as well – if the government was desperate to pass this legislation, then it would make a deal. Like it did with the Greens last term. But it only wants to make a deal its way, that doesn’t upset mining or captured state leaders like Roger Cook. So what does that tell you?

Murray Watt also thinks some time away (parliament rises after today and won’t sit for two weeks) might make the Greens and Coalition more open to doing a deal.

I think what’s important about the next fortnight when we’re out of Parliament is that it gives both the Coalition and the Greens an opportunity to [look at the laws].

That’s a bit hard for the Coalition at the moment. They’re very divided over net zero and I think that is getting in the way of their ability to really focus on these laws and understand the real benefits for business and it’s an opportunity for the Greens over the next fortnight to put aside to sort of blocking and spoiling games that they get up to while in Parliament and to notice and observe there’s really strong gains for the environment as well.

If you want to protect the environment, this is not great legislation. So a few issues there. The Coalition will do what is best for it but hasn’t quite worked that part out yet.

Environment minister Murray Watt is up and about early – the environment laws will pass the house today. The senate has kicked them off until March with an inquiry, but as we have been reporting, that can always change. The Minerals Council has come out very strongly in the Oz as wanting the Coalition to pass the bill before Christmas, so the government doesn’t go to the Greens and the bill is done and dusted (gee, wonder who these laws benefit if the fossil fuel lobby wants it all wrapped up so quickly?!) but the Coalition is a bit of a mess these days, so who knows what the plan is beyond survival.

Here is how Watt described his position on ABC News Breakfast this morning:

Well, this is a really significant day, after five years since Graeme Samuel tabled his report with recommendations about how to fix our environment laws, the laws will pass the House of Representatives today. The other important thing about though, is that in the House of Representatives, we are going to see the Greens Party vote with Barnaby Joyce against laws that deliver very real benefits if the environment. Equally, we’re going to see the Coalition vote with the Greens to stop laws that will deliver very real benefits for business.

They’re opposing the balanced pack that Graeme Samuel recommended, that we have put forward in this bill, but notwithstanding, it’s very pleasing to see it will pass the House. I’m still very confident that we can pass these laws this year.

Obviously there’s one more sitting week to go and there is an opportunity for the Senate to consider and pass these laws in that Senate – in that last sitting week.

There will actually be three hearings of the Senate Committee which is looking into this bill in the next fortnight before we return to Parliament. I there’s going to be about 40-odd witnesses who will give evidence at those three days of hearings, so there’ll be a lot of opportunity for people to have their say.

We simply cannot keep delaying reforms which will deliver national environmental standards, higher penalties damage our environment, and which will streamline approvals for really important projects like housing and renewables.

Kay, couple of things; why are we treating Graeme Samuel like he has sent words down the mount? He’s not Dolly Parton – he is a lawyer, businessman and former ACCC chair – not an unquestionable God. And does anyone have a problem with recommendations that are five years old in this space? Two, it is possible for the Greens and Barnaby Joyce to be against the laws for two different reasons. The government’s preferred pathway here is with the Coalition and Joyce for exactly that reason.

Yesterday Angus Taylor gave an interview to Sky News – so you know he is feeling comfortable. He doesn’t have the treasury portfolio (he’s shadow defence) but it is where he feels the most comfortable, as this hyperbole shows (Australia is not facing stagflation, the inflation is global and rising unemployment is RBA policy)

He was asked about the dinner he had on Monday night, with Andrew Hastie and colleagues, where Paul Sakkal reported Ley’s future was a topic of discussion. It was, according to what I was told – but then Taylor confirms it.

that’s a dinner that I have regularly in multiple places. I love a green curry, though. I do love
a good green curry with a bit of spice to it – it’s always good. There were many people, a significant group, at that dinner. And look, I do – as all of us should do – talk to my colleagues all the time about lots of issues. We’ve got plenty to talk through, and we do. It’s incredibly important that we debate the issues that we need to work on, and most of all, debate how we’re going to beat a bad Labor Party at a time when we’re seeing them drive up energy prices, interest rates are not coming down as expected, and the economy is sclerotic. We’re looking down the barrel of stagflation, rising inflation and rising unemployment at the same time, which is the worst of all possible worlds. So, we’re going to keep talking about these things, Kieran, and making sure that we’re in a position – which we need to be – to hold a bad Labor government to account

Penny Wong has announced new sanctions…for entities and an individual the government says is helping North Korea:

The Australian Government has imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on four entities and one individual engaged in cybercrime to support and fund North Korea’s unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

The scale of North Korea’s involvement in malicious cyber-enabled activities, including cryptocurrency theft, fraudulent IT work and espionage is deeply concerning.

UN-sanctioned North Korean entities have deep links with malicious cyber activities, as outlined in the second report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT). The report found:

• North Korean cyber actors stole at least $1.9 billion in cryptocurrency from companies around the world in 2024, and used a global network of North Korean nationals and foreign facilitators to launder stolen digital assets.
• North Korean officials used cryptocurrencies to sell and transfer military equipment and raw munitions materials such as copper.

The Australia Government is taking this action with the United States to apply pressure on North Korea’s illegal revenue generation networks and address its persistent challenges to security and stability.

Australia will continue to work with international partners to respond to malicious cyber activity, promote the framework for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace and keep Australians safe.

We have made it to parliament Thursday – thank Dolly for that!

It has been a very long sitting. Longer still if you are Sussan Ley, who still has one week of parliament left at the end of this month, before the summer break.

The Australian is reporting the South Australian branch is revolting over Ley’s leadership and the delay over the party scraping net zero, which SA branch members voted to dump earlier this year.

Which makes sense when you consider they vote in Tony Pasin and Alex Antic.

South Australia now joins WA in not supporting net zero, which might sound like a lot, except the party is in decline in both states and further away from winning power than ever. And while these branches might be voting for it, it doesn’t mean that’s the position of the rest of Australia – the Liberal party branches are older, whiter and more conservative than the average Australian and Liberal membership has been declining over recent years anyway – holding yourself hostage to them is not a serious electoral strategy. (But then again, none of this is rational)

We’ll follow all the day’s events – and then collapse in a heap.

It’s a four coffee morning. And a piece of chocolate. I may have to go hunting, but it feels necessary for today.

OK, are you with me? Because I don’t think I am strong enough to do this on my own.

Let’s get into it.