Michelle Grattan on government scandal and Labor policy

University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Professor Paddy Nixon discuss the week in politics.

This week they discuss the new COVID variant that has arrived in Australia called Omicron. Because of this, the government as decided to delay opening the international border to skilled workers and international students for a fortnight. But Scott Morrison has stressed he wants Australia to keep moving to COVID normal and does not want any further lockdowns.

They also canvass the release of the highly anticipated Jenkins Report into the parliamentary workplace. The report exposed that one in three people have experienced some form of sexual harassment while working there. The release of the report didn’t stop politicians from acting badly though, with a Liberal Senator accused of barking at Independent Jacqui Lambi, and Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe making an offensive and sexist comment at Liberal Hollie Hughes.

The final sitting week for the year saw former Attorney-General Christian Porter and Health Minister Greg Hunt announcing they won’t contest the election. There were also new allegations against Education Minister Alan Tudge by his former staffer who accused the minster of acting violently towards her. Tudge has now stood aside pending an inquiry.