A sense of nostalgia has pervaded the nation’s capital as the 48th parliament’s first sitting fortnight drew to a close.
After two weeks of political beef over US cattle, battles between and within parties, and the passage of major election promises, Australia’s MPs and senators have patted themselves on the back as they jet out of Canberra.
Labor used the period to celebrate its post-election parliamentary dominance, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese celebrating the plethora of first speeches from his party’s freshest faces and achievements of the previous fortnight.
But as his Question Time victory lap was interrupted by the coalition, Mr Albanese drew from the words of Joni Mitchell’s 1970 hit Big Yellow Taxi to lament the coalition’s departures from the previous government, specifically the former Liberal MP Paul Fletcher.
“Joni Mitchell was right, you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone,” he told the lower chamber on Thursday.
“We have a clear agenda of helping Australians, they have an agenda of fighting amongst themselves.”
For the past two weeks, much of opposition’s schedule has been dominated by in-fighting instigated by a handful of Nationals MPs that have brought forward a private member’s bill to repeal Australia’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050.
The opposition’s leaders have kept the door open on the issue while others within the coalition support the target, but Nationals boss David Littleproud said the opposition would soon reach a position and maintained it had been a productive sitting period.
“I will never knock anybody from putting forward a private member’s bill – that would subvert our democratic principles and what this place is all about,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“(But) once you join the Labor team, you can’t have a voice outside of it.”
Labor has been forced to reckon with dissent as the prime minister stared down an internal push to recognise Palestinian statehood, and insisting Australia would not be rushed on the issue.
Instead, the government focused on implementing major commitments including a 20 per cent cut to student debt, which was promised at the election, and reforms to cut funding from childcare centres that fail to meet safety and quality standards.
Education Minister Jason Clare thanked the coalition for helping pass both bills.
“This is a different parliament and a different opposition leader,” he told reporters.
“Australians I think want us to work together on the big things that matter to help Australians.”
But both major parties maintained their disagreements, with Labor and the Greens opposing a coalition attempt to take US beef imports to an inquiry.
Eyebrows have been raised at Australia’s decision to lift restrictions on the product as the government attempts to negotiate a US tariff carve-out.
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