Question time begins
The 11th-hour deal has not saved the aged care minister, Sam Rae, from more questions from the opposition today.
Sussan Ley stands up and asks if Rae is aware that the prime minister negotiated with the opposition without him, and if he can’t be in the room for the big calls, why should elderly Australians trust him?
Rae starts and says the government is “proud” to be delivering these reforms.
That gets a huge groan and some shouts from the opposition. Rae continues:
This is a fantastic outcome for older Australians and their families who have the certainty that more care is on the way.
The new support at home program will help more older Australians to stay at home for longer and with a higher level of care so people can stay close to family and close to community.
He’s trying hard to spin this one as a win for the government.
Key events
Climate exposure to Australia’s economy is “substantial” says Jim Chalmers, in answer to a question from Zali Steggall on the economic risk of climate change.
Steggall says the government still hasn’t released the national risk assessment on climate (which is due to be released later this month).
Chalmers says he’s working closely with the minister in harge of that risk assessment (Josh Wilson) and says climate risk is “front of mind for the government”
I spent a lot of time with the minister on this question… we have worked closely together on it and when we release that important work I welcome the contribution from the member for Warringah. These are important issues and they do have a lot of economic consequences attached to them.
Taylor asks Albanese about Daniel Andrews
The opposition are changing tack again. Shadow defence minister Angus Taylor asks Albanese about Daniel Andrews attending the military event in Beijing.
He asks if the PM will echo former Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s description of the attendance as a “bridge too far”.
Albanese avoids mentioning Andrews in his answer.
At the 70th anniversary, 10 years ago, the former government sent a Liberal minister Michael Ronaldson to represent the Australian Government. I understand that Australian Embassy officials will formally represent Australia this time.
Labor asked about ‘Isis brides’ returning to Australia
Back to QT and the opposition tries that question on again, asking if the government is aware of any information on the “Isis brides” returning and if they’re prepared to receive them.
Albanese is not happy with this line of questioning.
He gives an even shorter answer:
I refer to my previous answer.
Penry Buckley
Leaving QT for a quick moment for more on NSW antisemitic incidents data
Returning to NSW police minister Yasmin Catley’s admission she may have overstated the number of antisemitic incidents in NSW, the minister’s office has shared a further breakdown of the incidents reported under Operation Shelter, which began on 11 October 2023.
Police have advised that, as of 26 March 2025, 815 incidents had been reported, of which 367 were classified as antisemitic. This is about half of the figure of 700 incidents to which Catley and the NSW premier, Chris Minns, have previously referred.
The Operation Shelter figure provided in estimates today – 663 – appears to refer to alleged criminal offences. The NSW acting police commissioner, Peter Thurtell, suggested 41% of these offences had been reported as antisemitic.
It is not known what proportion of the 254 alleged offences that have resulted in charges relate to antisemitic events. Under Operation Shelter’s definition, “incident” also encompasses events that do not amount to an offence, or fall outside the operation’s scope.
Seems like we’ve moved on from aged care, Sussan Ley asks the government about reports Labor are helping bring so-called “ISIS brides” to Australia.
We get a very short (both in length and in sentiment) from the prime minister.
Those reports are not accurate.
You can read a bit more of the background here.
Allegra Spender asks when government will commit to publishing ministerial diaries
The government is under pressure on several pieces of legislation today and independent MP Allegra Spender asks the PM a question on FoI requests.
Her question is about when the government will commit to publishing ministerial diaries and disclosing sponsored parliamentary orange pass holders – as the crossbench has called for.
Anthony Albanese says there was a meeting with MPs including crossbenchers on the FoI changes yesterday and then talks about some of the justifications for the reforms.
Last year public servants spent more than 1 million hours processing FoIs. Not doing policy, not helping people out there with their issues.
He gets interrupted and then Milton Dick boots out Liberal MP Jason Wood, who continues to interject while Dick is speaking (an absolute no-no). Albanese continues:
There are real issues with the current system. One is the anonymous nature of requests, FOI applications.
He doesn’t mention releasing ministerial diaries or the disclosure of sponsored lobbyist passes.
Sussan Ley questions Sam Rae over aged care priority waitlist
Sussan Ley is back and puts a second question to Sam Rae, pressing him on the latest figures of Australians on the priority waitlist for an aged care package.
She asks how long the government has known this figure – when it was just revealed in the Senate today. That number was increased from 87,000 to 109,000.
Rae says there’s a verification process and that 87,000 figure was to the end of March this year.
There is a process of verification because the government doesn’t want to release incorrect information when it comes to the national priority system.
It’s a short answer, and he sits down as the manager of opposition business, Alex Hawke, gets up and tries to get Rae to “correct his answer” if he’s aware he made an incorrect statement.
The Speaker, Milton Dick, basically bats him away and says that wasn’t a point of order.
Question time begins
The 11th-hour deal has not saved the aged care minister, Sam Rae, from more questions from the opposition today.
Sussan Ley stands up and asks if Rae is aware that the prime minister negotiated with the opposition without him, and if he can’t be in the room for the big calls, why should elderly Australians trust him?
Rae starts and says the government is “proud” to be delivering these reforms.
That gets a huge groan and some shouts from the opposition. Rae continues:
This is a fantastic outcome for older Australians and their families who have the certainty that more care is on the way.
The new support at home program will help more older Australians to stay at home for longer and with a higher level of care so people can stay close to family and close to community.
He’s trying hard to spin this one as a win for the government.
Not a deal but a defeat on aged care says opposition leader
The opposition has also called the government’s concession on its aged care bill a “small victory”.
Speaking to reporters following Pocock and Allman-Payne, opposition leader Sussan Ley says the government was dragged to this outcome.
This is not a deal, Prime Minister, this is a defeat because labor has been dragged kicking and screaming to implement what we have spent this week demanding that they do.
Anne Ruston says the win is in conjunction with the Greens and crossbench who pushed the government in the senate this morning, but adds that there’s so much work still to be done.
We’ve stood up for older Australians. We’ve pushed back against the government, and we had forced [them] to go into back flipping and agreeing to our amendments to release these packages.
Pocock and Allman-Payne claim credit for immediate release of 20,000 home care packages
David Pocock and the Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne are taking the win for pressuring the government into agreeing to immediately release 20,000 home care packages.
But they say those extra packages “don’t even touch the sides” of the issue with 200,000 elderly Australians currently on the waitlist.
Allman-Payne told reporters:
It took them [Labor] losing a vote on the floor of the Senate this morning, on Senator Pocock’s motion, to force them to act.
The government essentially cut the crossbench out, by making a deal with the opposition to pass the amendments to their aged care bill, which should go through later this afternoon. Pocock says:
I think over this term we’re going to see more and more of a government that is constantly trying to cut the crossbench out.
Allman-Payne also accused the government of obfuscating the real number of Australians on the priority waitlists, which she says is 20,000 higher than the government had been saying
I think the extent to which Minister Rae and the government have gone to hide the true extent of the aged care wait list has been astounding. We asked a direct question in the Senate this morning of the minister to give us that number, and she wouldn’t give it, and she didn’t give it until, essentially, it was put in front of her and she had to confirm it.
They says it’s just a “small victory” because there’s such a huge problem within the sector.
