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As it happened: Temporary protection visas to be abolished; government marks 15 years since Kevin Rudd’s apology

Broede Carmody, Caroline Schelle, Angus Thompson and Olivia Ireland

Updated February 13, 2023 — 7:57pm,first published February 13, 2023 — 7:00am

Key Posts

Dutton apologises for boycotting 2008 apology

Kevin Rudd reflects on Apology after 15 years

Chinese firms restart coal supply talks with Australian miners

US shoots down fourth object near Canadian border

Don’t get rid of temporary protection visas: Barnaby

Labor still committed to Operation Sovereign Borders: Shorten

Government to abolish temporary protection visas

This morning’s headlines at a glance

7.57pm on Feb 13, 2023

The day in review

By Olivia Ireland

Good evening and thank you for reading our live coverage of the day’s events. If you are just joining us now, here’s what you need to know:

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton apologised in the House of Representatives for boycotting the apology to the Stolen Generations back in 2008. It comes on the 15-year anniversary of then-prime minister Kevin Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generations. Dutton said he had been out of the Queensland Police Force for about nine years and still “lived with those images of turning up to domestic violence incidents where Indigenous women and children had suffered physical abuse”. Dutton admitted at the time he “failed to grasp ... the symbolic significance”.
The Albanese government will push ahead with its plan to abolish temporary protection visas despite warning from the Home Affairs Department that doing so would weaken the Operation Sovereign Borders regime that has virtually halted the arrival of asylum seeker boats to Australia.
The Labor government will spend $424 million as part of the Closing the Gap implementation plan. In a speech to parliament, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that money is a “concrete demonstration of how we will advance real-world solutions that improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”.
The first day of controversial neurosurgeon Charlie Teo’s disciplinary hearing took place, as a string of supporters rallied by Teo greeted him at the entrance while the first witness described how he and his late wife were “grabbing onto any hope we could” when trying to cure her of a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumour.

Dr Charlie Teo arrives at the commission hearing this morning.Peter Rae

The blog will be back on tomorrow morning for the latest updates.

6.57pm on Feb 13, 2023

ABC’s websites, apps go down due to technical problem

By Ashleigh McMillan

A flurry of Twitter users reported the national broadcaster’s websites were failing to load just before 5.30pm, with website DownDetector noting the ABC’s online offerings were down nationwide.

A spokeswoman for the ABC said on Monday evening the national broadcaster was “aware of an issue impacting our digital products”.

“We apologise for any inconvenience and are working to return our services to normal as soon as possible,” she said.

About 6.40pm, some of the national broadcaster’s domains including abc.net.au could be accessed.

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6.04pm on Feb 13, 2023

Albanese government to push ahead in abolishing temporary protection visas

By Matthew Knott

The Albanese government pushed ahead with its plan to abolish temporary protection visas despite warnings from the Home Affairs Department that doing so would weaken the Operation Sovereign Borders regime that has virtually halted the arrival of asylum seeker boats to Australia.

The government announced today it was enacting a pre-election commitment to abolish the temporary visas, allowing about 19,000 people who have been stuck in limbo to apply for permanent resolution of status visa.

In its policy brief to the incoming Labor government, the department described the temporary visas as one of several “complementary policy measures” that support the Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) deterrence efforts.

“The key strength of the OSB model is that all elements working together collectively contribute to Australia’s ability to maintain strong denial and deterrence effects against maritime people smuggling,” the incoming brief said.

“Changes to any single element of OSB, without effective mitigation, may result in a weakening of the overall denial and deterrence effects delivered by the operation as a whole.”

Opposition home affairs spokeswoman Karen Andrews said she feared the policy change would “enliven opportunities for people smugglers” to kickstart their business model.

“So what Labor has done now is that they have demolished Operation Sovereign Borders,” she said.

“They have put our border policy at risk.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the policy change in question time, saying it would not restart the boats because it only applied to refugees who arrived in Australia before 2013.

“I can guarantee that we will implement the precise policy which we took to the election,” he said, adding he believed Labor had a “clear mandate from the Australian people” to introduce the policy.

4.42pm on Feb 13, 2023

Witness tells Charlie Teo hearing they were ‘desperate’ after wife’s diagnosis

The first day of controversial neurosurgeon Charlie Teo’s disciplinary hearing drew in a range of supporters, chief investigative reporter Kate McClymont writes.

Over the weekend, Teo sent text messages and emails to rally his supporters. As a result, dozens turned up to the hearing that only had 17 seats for the public.
Cricket legend Steve Waugh and his wife Lynette, who had a blood clot removed by Teo, managed to secure seats but boxer Anthony Mundine did not.
Asked what he thought about the criticism aimed towards Teo, Mundine told News Corp: ‘There will be people that hate it … it’s a 50-50 game, you’re gonna win some, you lose some.’

Charlie Teo entering the commission hearing.Peter Rae

The first witness, whose late wife was diagnosed with a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumour, said he and his wife were “grabbing onto any hope we could”.

Read the full piece here.

3.13pm on Feb 13, 2023

Federal government climate action scheme under fire

By Mike Foley

A scheme to promote the climate action of Australian businesses run by the federal government relies on warnings from third parties to weed out fake carbon credit schemes, a Senate hearing has heard.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young posed questions to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water about the Climate Active scheme that has certified 458 businesses claims of being carbon neutral.

The scheme is voluntary and permits business to submit international carbon credits including those generated by protecting rainforests in developing nations. The scheme’s website says “our carbon neutral certification is one of the most rigorous in the world”.

Hanson-Young’s questioning was prompted by recent reports in the Guardian that claimed 90 per cent of rainforest carbon credits issued by the Verra organisation, including to Australian businesses, were likely to be worthless. Verra has disputed these claims.

Department deputy secretary Jo Evans said the government accredited carbon credit suppliers “at a scheme level” and only initiated deeper scrutiny when concerns were raised. The department has written twice to Verra seeking responses to the Guardian’s reporting.

Hanson-Young said the government was not doing its due diligence to ensure companies under the Climate Active scheme had effectively offset their emissions.

“You provide a logo that companies are using to sell their products … to taxpayers, but you can’t prove that logo is based on anything,” she said.

International credits are not accepted under compulsory climate policies, such as the safeguard mechanism, which forces big polluters to cut their emissions.

3.10pm on Feb 13, 2023

‘Both Barilaros’ reason for the majority of black spot funding going to Labor-held seats: Albanese

By Angus Thompson

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has given Nationals leader David Littleproud “both Barilaros” in response to his question over the majority of mobile black-spot funding going to Labor-held seats.

Littleproud’s question comes off the back of the government repeatedly targeting the Nationals over their NSW counterparts’ decision to steer bushfire recovery funding away from Labor electorates.

The NSW auditor-general found the office of former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro intervened in the $100 million program and altered the guidelines, resulting in Labor electorates missing out on emergency funding despite being ravaged by the deadly Black Summer fires.

Littleproud asked: “I refer to Labor’s first round of the mobile phone black spots program, opened this month in 54 target locations. Why is it that 74 per cent of these target locations are in Labor Party-held electorates? How is this fair and accountable for bushfire-prone communities across regional Australia, desperate for better mobile coverage?”

Albanese: “I should give credit where credit is due to the Minister for Energy [Chris Bowen], who suggested I should give you both Barilaros on that question.”

He then accused Littleproud of “extraordinary gall”, referencing a Coalition decision to fund an upgrade to the North Sydney Pool, on the Sydney Harbour, under a regional scheme “because some people from the country might swim in it sometimes”.

2.47pm on Feb 13, 2023

Albanese uses question time to defend $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund

By Angus Thompson

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has questioned the controversy shrouding the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund for generating home-grown industries, and has told the Coalition – which opposes it – to “get out of the way”.

The ACTU has prompted criticism from the opposition and the business lobby for calling on the government to allow union officials to sit on the fund’s board.

Albanese said he attended an event on Saturday, “and one of the things that occurred all night was there was a queue of people to just ask, Why is it that this is controversial?’

“Why is it that the idea of establishing a national reconstruction fund of $15 billion to support Australian industry, to support Australian jobs across the food and agricultural sector, across defence, across renewables, across critical men are is, across all of these areas, why is this the subject of division in this place?

“And it is a bit beyond me because one of the lessons of the pandemic is that we need to be more self-reliant, we need to be more resilient.”

The Greens are also determined to block the legislation in the Senate, along with the Coalition, unless investment in fossil fuels is ruled out.

Albanese said the event’s attendees “asked me to send a message to this parliament, and I committed to do so, that they should get on board, get out of the way and support the national reconstruction fund legislation that is before this parliament and support manufacturing here”.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said manufacturing in Australia mattered when it came to national security.

“Now, the Albanese government is committed to Australia developing the capacity right here to build the next generation of nuclear-powered submarines in Adelaide,” he said.

“But what that will require initially is over the next five years, an additional 2000 skilled workers being trained, and this is a massive challenge. But once again, the country has been held back by the last decade of those opposite.”

2.38pm on Feb 13, 2023

Federal government says aged care wage rise timing not up to Fair Work

In Canberra, federal politics reporter Angus Thompson writes the Commonwealth government submitted that aged care wage rise timing was not up to the Fair Work Commission.

The federal government says its own workplace reforms improving gender equality and job security should not dictate the urgency of a highly anticipated pay rise for aged care workers, as the industry and unions call for the increase to be given immediately.
A government submission to a Fair Work Commission hearing also argues it is not within the body’s remit to determine when the Commonwealth must deliver on its election promise to fund the pay rise, and says the haemorrhaging of the workforce should have no bearing on the timing either.

Read the full piece here.

2.15pm on Feb 13, 2023

Governor-general’s office faces questions about leadership program

By Lisa Visentin

In Canberra, where Senate estimates is under way, Governor-General David Hurley’s secretary, Paul Singer, has faced yet another round of questions about the Australian Future Leaders program.

As federal politics tragics will recall, this is the program Hurley personally advocated for and which managed to secure an $18 million grant from the Morrison government, that was later scrapped by the Albanese government.

Under questioning by Greens senator David Shoebridge, Singer said it cost taxpayers $1597 to host two roundtables at Admiralty House, Hurley’s official residence in Sydney, in May 2021 to discuss the program.

Asked whether the governor-general continued to support the program, Singer said there was “nothing to support at the moment”.

Governor-General David Hurley.Jenny Magee

“There’s no activity that I’m aware of, even by the foundation or in relation to the program. That’s a matter for the foundation to determine whether there’s an ongoing viable model, which they would wish to revisit with the governor-general,” Singer said.

The foundation’s 2022 financial statement provided to the national charities register shows that it spent $645,605 last financial year, the vast bulk of which - more than $571,000 – was spent on employee expenses.

It emerged at an earlier Senate estimates hearing in April last year that the foundation had no staff beyond founder Chris Hartley and no offices, no website and no phone number. The financial statement reported it had one full-time employee, one part-timer and one casual employee.

It prompted this exchange between Shoebridge and Singer:

Shoebridge: You say there’s nothing going on, but they’ve spent more than $645,000 on employee expenses. Is that a fair description?
Singer: Well, I wouldn’t necessarily characterise it that way … I said there’s currently no activity by the foundation but I’m aware of because there is no program. But I’m not here to represent the operations of that foundation.

Singer was also asked about why, in the financial statement, the program was referred to as the “Governor-General’s Australian Future Leaders program”.

He responded that it was initially given that title, before a decision was made to ditch “governor-general” from the branding.

“The title of the program is the Australian Future Leaders program. If there are any inconsistencies around how that’s been referred, either by Mr Hartley or in the public domain, then we will take steps to ensure it’s reflected consistently,” Singer said.

1.45pm on Feb 13, 2023

Coalition steps up calls for equal Yes and No Voice funding

By Lisa Visentin

The Coalition has stepped up calls for the Albanese government to establish and equally fund formal Yes and No campaigns for the Voice referendum, saying it will not support laws to change the mechanics of the referendum process unless this occurs.

It comes amid ongoing discussions between the government and the opposition about what information should be contained in the official referendum pamphlet to be posted to voters, with the Coalition pushing for it to lay out the arguments for both the Yes and No case.

Speaking in the lower house today, Liberal MP James Stevens said the government could be perceived by voters to have “rigged the system” if equal funding was not provided to Yes and No cases, potentially imperilling the outcome.

“I think that any kind of trickery or rigging the system and effectively trying to advantage one side of the debate over the other will only increase scepticism amongst the people of this country and will only contribute to the defeat of whatever proposition is brought to them,” Stevens told the chamber.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has repeatedly ruled out public funding for the Yes and No campaigns, and has instead committed to funding a civics education campaign.

Stevens was a member of the Joint Standing Committee of Electoral Matters, which today handed down its inquiry into the government’s Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022, which sought to scrap the requirement for a pamphlet for the Voice referendum.

The bill also creates a financial disclosure regime for the private fundraising by the Yes and No camps, including a restriction on foreign donations.

Albanese has since relented to Coalition pressure by agreeing to reinstate the pamphlet, but it remains unclear whether this document will include the arguments for and against, or more general information about the referendum proposal.

The committee, chaired by Labor, did not make any recommendations explicitly about the pamphlet but instead offered several vague suggestions, including that the government “ensure that appropriate structures and mechanisms are put in place … to ensure clear, factual and impartial information is made accessible to all voters as part of the referendum process”.

In a dissenting report, the Coalition said the “existence of official Yes and No campaign entities would reduce the inevitable cluster of faux and or proxy organisations promoting themselves as official campaign bodies”.

It contained the ultimatum that unless the government agreed to establish these entities, provide them with equal funding, and ensure the pamphlet contains the Yes and No arguments, the Coalition would vote against the bill, meaning the government would have to secure support from the Greens and two crossbenchers in the Senate.

However, last week senior Liberal frontbencher Simon Birmingham broke ranks with his colleagues calling for public funding for both sides, saying he was not keen to see “large licks of taxpayer funding” spent on running the Yes and No campaigns.