Welcome to Country tension erupts on Q&A
Audience member Peter asked how the debate around the ceremonies could be resolved 'amicably' and 'in the interest of all parties concerned' following days of campaign trail division between Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton on the matter.
Liberal MP Paul Fletcher said the country needed to recognise the 'distinctive place' of Indigenous Australians but suggested many across society felt there were now too many ceremonies.
The issue has escalated in the federal election after neo Nazis booed a Welcome to Country from Bunurong man Uncle Mark Brown at Melbourne's Anzac Day Dawn Service at the Shrine of Remembrance.
Both sides of politics reacted with anger to the scenes and condemned the disruptive behaviour. Tanya Plibersek and Paul Fletcher battled on the ABC's flagship Q and A program on Monday night. ABC Credit: Supplied
But Mr Dutton has since said the ceremonies were losing their significance because of overuse and has suggested they might not be appropriate for Anzac Day services.
On Monday night, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek backed the ceremonies on Anzac Day and said acknowledging the service of Indigenous Australians in the military was 'perfectly appropriate'.
Mr Fletcher said veterans should determine the matter.
When Ms Plibersek shot back and said he was speaking as though 'we don't have Indigenous veterans', Mr Fletcher accused her of deploying 'straw man rhetoric', or suggesting she was not engaging directly with his position.
'I can tell you the role of Indigenous people in defending Australia over many conflicts has been very significant,' he said.
'Nobody is contesting that for a second.' Neo Nazis disrupted the Anzac Day Dawn Service in Melbourne. NewsWire/ Nadir Kinani Credit: News Corp Australia
Greens leader Adam Bandt accused Mr Dutton of 'gutter politics' on the issue
'It's gutter politics from an Opposition leader whose campaign is in free fall and he's starting to punch down,' he said.
'Peter Dutton was the master of misinformation during the (Voice) referendum which is what was referred to there, spreading all sorts of lies about what was going to happen.
'He's playing from the Trump play book as his campaign is in free fall. Punching down. Playing from the Trump play book and we'll call it out.'
Sydney Morning Herald political editor Peter Hartcher said the outlines of a resolution were already in place because both leaders accepted host institutions should determine whether or not to hold a ceremony.
Abbot's Desperate Phone Call Greens leader Adam Bandt revealed an unexpected personal phone call from Tony Abbott after the 2010 election on Monday's Q and A. ABC Credit: Supplied
In a discussion around how the major parties might respond to a hung parliament, Mr Bandt revealed former Liberal prime minister and climate change sceptic Tony Abbott had called him after the 2010 election to try and gain his support.
'He (Abbott) rang me,' Mr Bandt told the panel.
'He said, 'Hi, Adam, it's Tony Abbott here. I've always considered myself a bit of an environmentalist. I think we should talk'.'
The Q and An audience erupted with laughter.
'It was a very short conversation and Peter Dutton would get the same response this time,' Mr Bandt said.
'Everyone says they're not going to talk but I would be astounded if they refused to respect the parliament that the Australian people select.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Chalmers hits back at critics talking down economic talkfest before it has even begun
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has rounded on critics of the government's economic roundtable, insisting the three-day meeting to map out ways to improve Australians' living standards will not be a waste of time. As the Greens vowed to use their balance of power in the Senate to drive progressive reforms from the roundtable, Chalmers said that next week's forum would be the start of a three-year drive to increase productivity rather than 'instant policy gratification'. The roundtable begins on Tuesday with discussions to focus on issues ranging from regulatory barriers to building new homes, the structure of the tax system and recognition of occupational licences across state and territory boundaries. The government has already ruled out substantial tax reform from the roundtable, especially in contentious areas such as the GST and negative gearing. There have also been criticisms that the roundtable could become a talkfest that will fail to deliver policies to address the nation's slowdown in productivity growth. But Chalmers said he wanted to push back at critics, many in the Coalition, who have claimed that the gathering will be a waste of time. Loading 'I feel the effort we've put in, which has been very, very substantial, probably the most intensive period of consultation that I've been involved in, I feel like it's already worth it,' he told this masthead. 'You shouldn't anticipate that we will have every problem solved in the economy at the end of three days of fruitful discussions, but it will be a really important way to inform the decisions of the cabinet.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the treasurer have at times struck different tones, creating a perception that Chalmers is more keen to use the roundtable to enact bigger reforms, though the pair have not been obviously at odds over any specific policy.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Chalmers hits back at critics talking down economic talkfest before it has even begun
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has rounded on critics of the government's economic roundtable, insisting the three-day meeting to map out ways to improve Australians' living standards will not be a waste of time. As the Greens vowed to use their balance of power in the Senate to drive progressive reforms from the roundtable, Chalmers said that next week's forum would be the start of a three-year drive to increase productivity rather than 'instant policy gratification'. The roundtable begins on Tuesday with discussions to focus on issues ranging from regulatory barriers to building new homes, the structure of the tax system and recognition of occupational licences across state and territory boundaries. The government has already ruled out substantial tax reform from the roundtable, especially in contentious areas such as the GST and negative gearing. There have also been criticisms that the roundtable could become a talkfest that will fail to deliver policies to address the nation's slowdown in productivity growth. But Chalmers said he wanted to push back at critics, many in the Coalition, who have claimed that the gathering will be a waste of time. Loading 'I feel the effort we've put in, which has been very, very substantial, probably the most intensive period of consultation that I've been involved in, I feel like it's already worth it,' he told this masthead. 'You shouldn't anticipate that we will have every problem solved in the economy at the end of three days of fruitful discussions, but it will be a really important way to inform the decisions of the cabinet.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the treasurer have at times struck different tones, creating a perception that Chalmers is more keen to use the roundtable to enact bigger reforms, though the pair have not been obviously at odds over any specific policy.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Hidden issue fueling Aussie crisis
Jim Chalmers says it's 'not surprising' Australia's birth rate has slowed given the 'financial pressures' on families, however, he has rejected calls to bring back the Costello-era $3000 baby bonus in favour of 'better, more enduring ways to support parents'. The comments come ahead of Labor's highly anticipated Economic Reform Roundtable, which will bring business and unions groups to Canberra for three days of intensive discussions on how to lift Australia's sluggish productivity rate. 'It's not surprising that the birth rate has slowed given the pressures on people, including financial pressures,' he told NewsWire. 'We want to make it easier for them to make that choice. If they want to have more kids, we want to make it easier for them to do that, and that's what motivates a lot of our changes.' NED-14018-How-Australias-birth-rate-has-fallen However, as Australia struggles to boost the economy, and in turn raise wages and living standards, it's also contending with a sluggish birth rate of 1.5 births per woman, which is under the 2.1 figure needed to sustain population growth. Boosting productivity was also essential to ensuring that Australia's ageing population could weather economic headwinds, the Treasurer said. 'Now, the reason why the productivity challenge is important to this is because our society is ageing, and over time, there will be fewer workers for every person who's retired,' he said. 'We need to make sure that our economy is as productive as it can be, as strong as it can be to withstand that demographic change, which is going to be big and consequential.' Treasurer Jim Chalmers said boosting productivity was essential to help Australia weather an ageing population. NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia Mr Chalmers also spurned calls from former Liberal prime minister John Howard to resurrect the $3000 baby bonus cash incentive bought in by his treasurer Peter Costello in 2004. The Queenslander's parliamentary colleagues have advocated for other measures to spur a baby boom, including Nationals senator Matt Canavan's proposed $100,000 loans for first-time parents to buy their first home. Parliament's maverick father of the house Bob Katter also proposed incoming splitting for parents so they paid less overall tax. For example, a household where two parents earn a combined income of $150,000 pays about $10,000 less tax than a household with a single worker pulling in $150,000. Instead, Mr Chalmers said Labor's supports were 'more enduring,' pointing to policies like guaranteeing three days of subsidised child care for families earning less than $533,280, increasing paid parental leave to 25 weeks, and paying super on government-funded parental leave to tackle the gender superannuation gap. The decline in birth rate. Source: Supplied Credit: Supplied 'That policy from a couple of decades ago was a one-off payment, and we found ways to support parents which is meaningful and enduring, not one off. That's the main difference,' he said. 'Our political opponents … haven't said how they would fund that, how they would pay for that, whereas we've been carefully budgeting all this help for parents in our budgets and providing that in an ongoing way. 'We're always in the market for ideas about ways to support families. We've got all this cost-of-living help rolling out, (like) all the childcare changes. All of that, I think, demonstrate a willingness on our part to support families (in making) decisions about whether they want to have kids or have more kids.' Mr Chalmers says the 'generational anxiety' plaguing Australia youth simultaneously contending with rising house prices and inflation will also be a touchstone ahead of the economic reform roundtable, which at one point was called the productivity roundtable before it was quietly changed. He concedes productivity can 'sound like a cold lifeless piece of economic jargon' but explains the metric is 'about efficiency' and 'about how we make our economy stronger to deliver for more people so that they can earn more and get ahead and be better off'. Australia's birthrate has fallen below the 2.1 births needed to sustain Australia's population. Jason Edwards/ NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Generational equality has also fuelled some of the roundtable's more controversial submissions, including the Australian Council of Trade Unions' call to limit negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions on just one property by the next five years, and teal Wentworth MP Allegra Spender's overhaul of the tax system that she says is overly reliant on income taxes. The ACTU has also reiterated calls for a four-day work week, while the Productivity Commission irked business bodies with calls for a new 5 per cent cash flow tax and a road user charge to ensure EV drivers, who skip the fuel excise, also contribute to road upgrades. How to best handle the opportunities posed by artificial intelligence, while mitigating the risks and job losses, will also be debated on day two; however, Mr Chalmers is quietly optimistic. 'I think one of the big challenges, broadly, but especially for young people, is how they adapt and adopt technology, so a big focus will be how do we skill people up to use artificial intelligence so that it's it works for them, not against them, particularly in the workplace,' he said. Mr Chalmers will use talks to create consensus on what he says is the 'most transformative influence on our economy and our lifetime', and while he doesn't want to pre-empt decisions, education settings and regulation will likely be immediate action points once talks end on Thursday. '(AI) has to change the way we think about skills and capabilities, and I'll work closely with colleagues in the education portfolios, the industry portfolio and elsewhere to make sure that we've got the settings right,' he said. 'Whether it's regulation, whether it's education, in a whole bunch of areas, governments have to catch up and keep up with the accelerating pace of technological change.'
