Page 75 - Rex Patrick News Today

Following news of Linda Reynolds’ “lying cow” comments and apology, The Conversationreports that the defence minister has obtained a medical certificate to extend her leave until April 2. Reynolds, who faces calls to step down from opposition figures, will consequently miss a both week of the Senate and a week of Senate estimates. The Australian ($) notes the move has created crisis briefing plans for acting Defence Minister Marise Payne to take charge of the controversial $90 billion ...

Govt faces IR bill delays due to Porter allegations06/03/2021|1min The Coalitions Industrial Relations bill could be delayed as the fallout continues from rape allegations brought against his Attorney-General. Christian Porter was leading negotiations between the coalition and the crossbench over changes to the bill before taking a leave of absence. South Australian senator Rex Patrick said the government had "no chance" of passing the legislation this month without Mr Porter. Independent Senat...

The federal government insists its legislative agenda will not be affected by Christian Porter's absence, despite crossbench warnings it has little chance of getting its industrial relations changes through Parliament this month.

Rex Patrick calls on the government to reassess all social security debts ‘calculated unlawfully using averaging of payslips’

The parliamentary motions will follow two adopted by The Netherlands and Canada last month.

Murray Darling Basin Plans on-farm Water Efficiency Program axed by government Posted WedWednesday 3 updated WedWednesday 3 The Water Efficiency Program, returning farm water savings to the environment, has been axed. ( Share Print text only Cancel No more water will be taken from farms to be returned to the environment under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan following a policy shift announced on Wednesday by the federal government. Key points: The government cancels a program that funds farmers ...

An Australian cabinet minister accused of rape is set to make a public statement The Australian federal cabinet minister accused of a decades-old rape is considering making a public statement as early as tomorrow to declare his innocence after NSW police closed their investigation because they did not have enough admissible evidence to proceed. The minister has spoken to others about going public after widespread conjecture about his identity and the allegations made to police last year about ...

South Australian Senator Rex Patrick has told Sky News the government should consider “walking away” from its “mess” of a French submarine contract. Australia currently has a contract with French manufacturer Naval Group to convert 12 nuclear submarines to normal diesel engine submarines which are not expected to be ready until around 2035. The Morrison government has appointed two former senior naval officers to review the program, which is running over-budget and set to run over-schedu...

International momentum is building to formally censure China for human rights violations. The Netherlands parliament has now joined the Canadian House of Commons and the US government in labelling China’s treatment of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang a genocide. Australia’s response has so far fallen short of that designation. In October, the government, along with 38 other countries, expressed ‘grave concern’ about China’s ‘gross human rights violations’ in a letter to the United Na...

Australian senator calls to recognise China’s treatment of Uighurs as genocide Daniel Hurst © Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images An Australian senator will seek support from fellow upper house members to recognise China’s treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority as genocide, after similar parliamentary motions passed in Canada and the Netherlands. The proposed motion – placed on the Senate’s notice paper for 15 March – looms as a test fo...