Australia politics live: Labor to introduce climate legislation as new parliament sits; inflation could hit highest rate since 1990

Key events

Meanwhile, newly sworn-in independent MPs are wasting no time settling in to the swing of things.

Dr Sophie Scamps
The Independent member for Mackellar, Dr Sophie Scamps, talks to the media in the press gallery. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated at 19.20 EDT

Mike Bowers has been out and about – he came across Nationals MP Darren Chester fresh from the parliament gym in the press gallery.

Quite a few Coalition MPs have found a new appreciation of the gym. They’ve got a bit more time on their hands theses days

Darren Chester
The member for Gippsland, Darren Chester, back from the gym. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated at 19.18 EDT

Luke Henriques-Gomes

Luke Henriques-Gomes

Outsourcing of jobseeker skills training criticised

The Australian Council of Social Service (Acoss) has criticised plans to pay millions of taxpayer dollars to outsourced providers delivering so-called employability skills training for jobseekers.

Guardian Australia revealed this morning that the employment services industry successfully lobbied to stop a rule that would have seen job agencies under the new Workforce Australia model referring their clients to training courses run by their own organisations.

The long-standing practice has been repeatedly criticised as a way for providers to bolster their bottom line, despite the potential conflict of interest. It was proposed to be banned under Workforce Australia, but the rule was ditched following industry lobbying.

Acoss’s acting chief executive, Edwina MacDonald, questioned the quality of the employability skills training program.

Plans to spend $125m on Employability Skills Training that includes two-week courses on how to dress for work and show up on time is a wasted opportunity and a slight on people who have years of work experience behind them.

Actual paid jobs and decent vocational training to update skills are far better ways to support people looking for paid work.

We need programs that help people who are looking for paid work and facing disadvantages in the labour market get into secure and sustainable jobs.

Updated at 19.09 EDT

Dark clouds gather on economic front

Peter Hannam has a preview on what economic conditions are heading our way:

Incoming treasurers invariably discover “black holes” in inherited budgets and then accentuate the economic negatives to lower the bar for future comparisons.

In Jim Chalmers’ case, expect an array of perceived budgetary bungles over the past decade of Coalition rule to be revealed ahead of his October debut budget.

However, on the economic front the dark clouds are rapidly gathering on their own.

Updated at 19.04 EDT

Peter Hannam will have you covered on inflation when that drops at 11.30.

Jim Chalmers has already scheduled a press conference for midday.

Updated at 18.37 EDT

Emissions targets are a floor not a ceiling, Bowen says

On Sky News, Chris Bowen said the climate bill negotiations weren’t about concessions for the Greens:

I wouldn’t put it in terms of concessions, what I would put in terms of with the Greens and the crossbench more broadly, they had suggestions to make things more explicit that we’re already there, to clarify some of the language to do that sort of thing, more than happy to take that stuff on board.

And that’s what we’ve done. It’s a floor, not a ceiling. The targets have to go up in the future in terms of 2035 and 2040. That’s clear in the bill, all those things are worthy of discussion. But as I said, we stick to our agenda and our mandate, and that’s what we’ll get on to implement. This legislation is best practice. It’s ideal, it’s very good. If it doesn’t pass, we’ll just get on with the job anyway. That’s what we’ve been doing anyway, since day one and we’ll continue but this legislation does help if it’s passed, send the message to investors in Australia and around the world.

Updated at 18.36 EDT

Inflation could hit highest rate since 1990

AAP has a preview of today’s inflation figures, which are going to be horrible:

Australia could be about to record its worst inflation outcome in more than 31 years, paving the way for higher mortgage and lending rates.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the consumer price index data for the June quarter – when the price of a supermarket iceberg lettuce hit $10 – on Wednesday.

The financial market consensus is for a headline annual inflation rate of 6.2% – the highest since the December quarter of 1990.

That would be more than the 5.1% rate logged in the March quarter, which was the fastest pace of annual price growth in 21 years.

“Since then, inflation has likely broadened and deepened,” St George chief economist Besa Deda said.

The quarterly outcome is forecast at 1.8%, which would be slightly lower than the 2.1% recorded in the previous quarter.

But the range of economists’ forecasts for the quarterly number is wide – between 1.6% and 2.8% – signalling uncertainty about how deeply entrenched price pressures have become since March.

While the main drivers of inflation in the June quarter will again be fuel and food costs, housing and building costs are also likely to be strong – perhaps as high as 20% year-on-year, according to JP Morgan economists.

Other factors are adding to the pressure, particularly in the housing sector, where rents are rising and demand for new homes and related construction services and products remains strong.

Updated at 18.32 EDT

It is the first question time today. In case you missed it, here is Murph’s analysis on the plan so far:

Updated at 18.29 EDT

Ministers remind gas companies of their social licence

Chris Bowen was also asked about discussions with Australian gas suppliers, in the wake of Russia putting further squeezes on Europe’s gas supply:

Well, that’s a constant theme of the discussions that Madeleine King, the minister for resources, and I have with the gas companies, of course, you know, they are market participants and they run their companies in a way in accordance with their obligations to their shareholders.

Having said that, we are regularly in a respectful and constructive way reminding them of their social licence. This is Australian gas and we expect the Australian market to be properly supplied. That’s been something we’ve had to do since day one …

It’s been important and urgent from the day we were sworn in. I mean, I literally left the swearing in to come and deal with this crisis. Literally. You know, I was getting text messages during the swearing in. That’s the level of the mess that the previous government left us.

Madeleine and I have been working very closely and working wherever necessary to talk to gas companies to remind them of the social licence – it might not be in all senses a legal obligation but it is a social license obligation.

And, of course in relation to legal obligations we have previously and as we’re looking at reform of the various mechanisms and triggers that are available to ensure that they fit for purpose, and I’m sure Madeleine will have more to say about that.

Updated at 18.29 EDT

Building commission head says he wasn’t surprised by decision to scrap agency

The head of the soon-to-be-defunct Australian Building and Construction Commission, Stephen McBurney, also spoke to ABC radio RN this morning, saying he was not surprised the government was scrapping the agency.

That’s because Labor had always said it would. But it was confirmed when Tony Burke announced it on Insiders on Sunday.

McBurney:

We were not consulted on the decision announced on Sunday but we’ve been aware for some time of the government’s intention to abolish our agency, and were undertaking the work necessary to transition to abolition …

I was surprised at the extent to which the code has been amended. But having said that, our responsibility is clear. We operate under our legislation and it’s a decision for governments as to what the future code is and what powers, functions and duties they wish for us to perform.

Updated at 18.19 EDT

Minister backs energy regulator

On the Australian Energy Regulator investigation into energy companies which may have “gamed” the system, Chris Bowen says he has full faith in the regulator and those who lead it:

Well, there are substantial penalties under the various acts for not behaving properly in the market for energy companies.

I’m not going to go into the details of that because the Australian Energy Regulator, it’s an independent regulator is doing their job. I will say Claire Savage as a regulator is a first-class regulator.

She has my absolute respect and confidence. She has been very active in recent weeks and months as we move through this energy crisis, working very closely with Daniel Westerman, the chief executive of the operator to ensure that the energy market puts consumers first.

So she has a job to do as the energy regulator, I’m not going to sort of run on daily commentary on on that job, other than her say she has my 100% support. With all the powers of law she has to ensure that every participant in the energy market is behaving properly in accordance with the law, and that consumers rights are protected and defended. That’s her job and she’s doing very, very well.

Climate change minister Chris Bowen speaks to the media yesterday
Climate change minister Chris Bowen speaks to the media yesterday. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated at 18.31 EDT

Climate discussions with moderate Liberals are confidential, Bowen says

Asked about his discussions with moderate Liberals, including Bridget Archer, about whether or not they will support Labor’s climate legislation, despite the Coalition ruling itself out of negotiations, Chris Bowen says those conversations are confidential:

Any discussions I’ve had with members of the Liberal party at this stage remain confidential. That’s important in this building. These people approached you confidentially. You respect that.

But Bowen does speak on the Liberal party’s position at large:

There are you know, some people in the Liberal party who get it and who get that the modern Liberal party is so out of touch.

This is the modern Liberal party unfortunately for Australia, this once-great party. It’s changed from Morrison to Dutton. But really, nothing has changed. They don’t get action on climate. They don’t think Australia needs action on climate. They don’t see the jobs opportunity from action on climate. They don’t see the investment opportunity. They haven’t gotten the memo. They haven’t changed. It’s the same old Liberal party.

Updated at 18.15 EDT

Greens’ demands for no fossil fuel projects won’t be heeded, Bowen says

The minister for climate change, Chris Bowen, is speaking to ABC radio RN about the climate legislation he will be introducing today.

He tells Patricia Karvelas the government is doing what it said it would be doing – which means the demands for no new coal or gas projects won’t be heeded. Bowen says the public position reflects the private position – which means the Greens are arguing for no new projects in discussions with Bowen, and Bowen isn’t shifting:

Publicly and privately we have said the things that we regard we have a mandate for – and the things that we don’t think we have a mandate for are things that the Greens are asking for that weren’t our policy.

We will not move on it.

Updated at 18.05 EDT

Is there a reckoning coming for the employment services industry?

It is a slow boil (as is everything to do with how we treat people who receive social security for unemployment) but there seems to be a reckoning coming for the job services agencies that make their money from the mutual obligations the government sets for people receiving jobseeker.

When John Howard privatised what was left of the old Commonwealth Employment Service, it set up a system where agencies earned millions from the unemployed. A lot of people are now looking at whether that has been best for those looking for jobs, and the burden placed on those who are unable to work, who are ill, or are unable to take a job which is offered (not all are suitable to people’s circumstances).

Luke Henriques-Gomes is one of those who has been examining the employment services industry:

The employment services industry successfully lobbied to stop a proposed rule banning providers from referring jobseekers to their own training courses under the new $1.5bn-a-year Workforce Australia model.

In a potential windfall for providers, Guardian Australia can reveal the Department of Employment last year intended to ban the practice before reversing course after “strong feedback” from the industry.

That included claims from providers that the ban would be “counterproductive” to the “viability” of the Employability Skills Training program, through which $500m will flow to private providers over the next five years.

Updated at 18.02 EDT

Also on the agenda today – the overdue decision to scrap the cashless welfare card. As Josh Butler reports:

Updated at 18.00 EDT

Good morning

It’s the first official sitting day of the new parliament – we’ll get our first question time, which will be the first test of the new “respectful” parliament.

But there is no time to settle in – the economy and climate will once again dominate today, with inflation data expected to confirm what we are all feeling – the price of life is going up.

The revised IMF predictions for global growth show that it is not going to improve anytime soon. The RBA could respond by raising interest rates higher, sooner, in a bid to put a lid on Australia’s rising inflation, which is only going to add to the pain.

Tomorrow Jim Chalmers will give his economic update on the state of the budget. It is laying the groundwork for what is going to be a pretty tough budget. But so far the government is not budging on delivering the Morrison government’s stage-three tax cuts – something the budget couldn’t really afford when it was passed (with Labor’s support, despite its reservations over the stage-three plans) and can ill afford now. Those tax cuts will also add to the unfairness of Australia’s tax system, so stay tuned on those.

The climate conversations continue, with Labor and the Greens inching towards an agreement to have the legislation passed through the Senate. The Coalition has weirdly decided to just deal itself out of the first major piece of legislation – it won’t even come to the table. Given what the last election was fought on and how much the Liberal party in particular suffered, that seems a strange strategy, but here we are.

Mike Bowers is back with you, as is Katharine Murphy, Tory Shepherd, Josh Butler and Paul Karp.

You have Amy Remeikis on the blog for most of the day.

Ready? I am about to have my third coffee, meaning I’m heading to five. So it’s going to be a little rough.

Updated at 18.00 EDT