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Government Widens Terms Of Reference For Trade Union Royal Commission; Criminal Conduct Probe, Reporting Date Extended

Oct 07, 2014

The federal government has widened the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into trade unions and given the inquiry an extra year to report.

The inquiry will now have the ability to investigate criminal conduct by unions. The December 2014 reporting date has been extended to December 2015.

The Attorney-General, Senator George Brandis, announced the changes at a press conference today.

Brandis

The Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption is being conducted by the former High Court Justice John Dyson Heydon. It was established by the Abbott government in February this year.

Brandis said the government had accepted a suggestion by Dyson Heydon for the inclusion of an additional term of reference relating to criminal conduct.

In a letter to Brandis, Dyson Heydon said: “The inquiry thus far has revealed evidence of criminal conduct which includes widespread instances of physical and verbal violence, cartel conduct, secondary boycotts, contempt of court and other institutional orders, and the encouragement of others to commit these contempts. Some officials appear to regard their unions as having immunity not only from the norms and sanctions of the Australian legal system, but also from any social or community standard shared by other Australians… There are dimensions of criminal conduct revealed by the evidence thus far suggesting that a more thorough examination…is desirable.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Abbott, Audio, Unions Tagged With: , , , ,

Terror Alert Raised To High; Abbott Says No Imminent Threats But People With Intent And Capability Are Here

Sep 12, 2014

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced that the government has raised the terrorism alert level from ‘medium’ to ‘high’.

Abbott

Abbott said there are no imminent threats but that “there are people with the intent and capability to mount attacks here in Australia”.

Speaking at a press conference with the Director-General of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), David Irvine, and the Acting Commissioner of the Australian Federal Policy (AFP), Andrew Colvin, Abbott said members of the public should not notice anything in their daily lives but that security would be stepped up at government buildings, defence facilities and major public events. [Read more…]

Filed Under: A.L.P., Abbott, Audio, Terrorism, Video Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Attorney-General George Brandis Stumbles In Metadata Interview

Aug 06, 2014

The Attorney-General, Senator George Brandis, has stumbled over the explanation of metadata in an interview on Sky News.

Brandis was responding to questions about the government’s intentions in new counter-terrorism legislation. Using the metaphor of metadata as akin to the address on an envelope, Brandis stumbled over the question of whether the legislation would provide access to a citizen’s web browsing history.

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  • Watch the Brandis interview (8m)
Filed Under: Abbott, Audio, Intelligence, Terrorism Tagged With: , , ,

Abbott Kills 18C Repeal; New Counter-Terrorism Measures To Cost $630m Over Four Years

Aug 05, 2014

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has abandoned government plans to repeal Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.

Abbott-Brandis-Bishop

Section 18c makes it an offence to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate a person or group on the basis of their race, colour, or national or ethnic origin.

The proposed repeal of 18C has been the subject of intense debate since the government’s election last year. The legislation is “off the table”, Abbott told a press conference in Canberra. He said he did not want to jeopardise “national unity” and it was “a complication we just don’t need and we’re just not going to proceed with it”.

Flanked by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Attorney-General Senator George Brandis, Abbott also announced a series of counter-terrorism measures that will cost $630 million over the next four years. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Abbott, Audio, Law, Terrorism Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Tony Abbott’s Speech To The Liberal Party Federal Council: “We Are The Party Of Menzies, Fraser And Howard”

Jun 28, 2014

The Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, has addressed the Liberal Party’s Federal Council meeting in Melbourne.

Abbott

In its 70th anniversary year, Abbott described the Liberal Party as “the party of Menzies and Fraser and Howard”, a rare reference to Fraser, who no longer belongs to the party and is a persistent critic of its drift to the political right.

But Abbott’s real message was to the crossbench senators who assume office on Tuesday. The government will require 6 of the 8 crossbenchers to support its legislation, if the ALP and the Greens are opposed. Abbott said: “I say to the new senators — we won’t hector you and we won’t lecture you. We respect your election as we ask you to respect ours. We simply ask that you acknowledge the trust placed in us by the Australian people to be their government.”

The Council elected former Howard government minister Richard Alston as the party’s new Federal President, replacing Alan Stockdale, the former Treasurer in the Victorian Kennett government in the 1990s.

The second day of the Council meeting was notable for a dispute between two Abbott ministers. The Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne, and the Attorney-General, Senator George Brandis, clashed on proposed changes to the party’s Constitution. Pyne argued that Brandis should not speak on the issue because of his role in framing the proposals. Critics argued that adequate notice of the proposals had not been given and that the changes gave the Federal party too much power over State divisions. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Abbott, Audio, Liberal Party Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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