In 2013 @TonyAbbottMHR refused to even have a science minister and inflicted $3b of cuts to innovation, science and research. All @TurnbullMalcolm could do is appoint a parliamentary secretary for science and now he doesn’t even have that. #aupol
No one – 18 September 2013 to 23 Dec 2014
Ian Macfarlane – 23 December 2014 to 21 September 2015 @cpyne – 21 Sep 2015 to 19 July 2016 @GregHuntMP – 19 July 2016 to 24 Jan 2017 @A_Sinodinos – 24 Jan 2017 to 20 Dec 2017 @ZedSeselja – 20 Dec 2017 to 21 Aug 2018 #science#auspol
Yet again Australian #science community is being treated shabbily by the political machinations of this failed, divided government. @TurnbullMalcolm has already demoted the Science Ministry from Cabinet to the ranks of the Assistant Ministers. #auspol
If Turnbull has any shame left he will rectify and appoint a fresh Minister of Science, one not tainted by scandal or police investigation. #auspol
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The far-reaching consequences of the ministerial powers in an emergency were not debated by the parliament, and I challenge the assumption that they were even understood by members when they voted on this legislation in 2016. #auspol
As Justice Jackson observed, emergency powers can be misused. All you need is a government that can make a plausible claim of emergency, whether one exists or not.
That’s why parliamentary scrutiny is so important, to test such claims at the time they are actually made #auspol
We should not be giving unknown ministers blank cheques.
Signing blank cheques is never a good idea, especially when it comes to a state of emergency. #auspol
There has recently been controversy over extent of Gov Emergency Power under biosecurity laws. Again, failure of parliament to scrutinise these laws when they were introduced, has become all too apparent. #auspol
When they were debated, these bills were seen as agricultural matters, not matters of human health and civil liberties. #auspol
Few understand that subsection 477(5) of the Biosecurity Act provides that ‘[a] requirement determined under subsection (1) applies despite any provision of any other Australian law’. #auspol
What is all too apparent, is that the Amendment (Enhancement of Defence Force Response to Emergencies) Bill 2020 contains within it, a blatant attempt to obscure this unnecessary and illogical grab for power.
This is a deliberate strategy, not a drafting mistake #auspol
This is a matter that should concern all Australian citizens, especially those concerned with civil liberties and human rights.
US Justice Robert Jackson’s observation in his dissent in Korematsu v. United States, the 1944 Supreme Court decision that upheld the internment of Japanese Americans ...
On 3 September 2020, the Minster for Defence presented a new bill, the Defence Legislation Amendment (Enhancement of Defence Force Response to Emergencies) Bill 2020. #auspol
Hidden in the fine print of an otherwise unremarkable bill giving legal protection to ADF personnel following lawful instructions while on service, is an extraordinary extension of emergency Commonwealth powers. #auspol
Item 4, sub section 123AA2 provides for a general emergency power for the Defence Minister to deploy the ADF. Such directions do not need to be published, they are not time limited, and the Minister does not need to consult with the states and territories...
ALL international agreements to be vetted by DFAT and the spooks? Is this serious or just another Scomo thought bubble to get the heat off aged care? What is happening with the Cabinet if these ideas are run though journalists as if it has no impact on our international relations
How many public servants and lawyers do they think it is going to take to supervise and review all organisations who have international agreements? Or are we just going to veto agreements with groups that Mr Murdoch doesn’t like?
Mr Morrison needs to stop taking cheap shots at Daniel Andrews and unis.These powers will go far beyond State gov and unis it will impact environmental management and collaborations in health, science, the public sector, cultural groups, tourism, sport, trade and the economy!
This country needs to get serious about planning for economic recovery, but all the Morrison Government can offer are grim slogans and a Johnny-come-lately discovery of the importance of manufacturing.
Where are the Gov's plans for industry sectors? Where is its energy plan?
Half-baked leaks to Murdoch mouth pieces do not make a plan. Some try to present economic development and action on climate change as alternative choices. That is a false dichotomy.
Labor's policy recognises that climate change is real, and that the cost of inaction will be greater harm to our economy and society.
We can achieve NET ZERO emissions by 2050, and it doesn't mean leaving working-class communities behind.