MARK DREYFUS MP

The Morrison Government chose a side by throwing the whole weight of the Commonwealth Government behind Clive Palmer, hoping to convince the High Court to strike down the McGowan Government’s border measures and hand Palmer a victory.

The tragic conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and the fraught peace process in which they have been involved for generations is too important to be used by politicians desperate to be noticed by their colleagues.

Technology will play an important role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and Labor welcomes the fact that the Morrison Government is working on a contact tracing app

It is not the Parliament's job to serve the interests of the Australian Government. Its job is to serve the interests of the Australian people. That vital function must not be placed into hibernation during a time of crisis.

Press freedom is vital to our democracy of course it is. But you don't really appreciate the meaning of that sentence until photos appear of police officers in a journalist's house, flicking through her cookbooks looking for evidence of a crime. Or until you see footage of police officers sitting in the ABC cracking into a hard drive, just a day later.

It has taken more than 40 years for the Family Court's existence to be threatened. But that is happening now.

Whether or not you think section 44(i) is unnecessary or doesn't reflect our multicultural society, the fact is it is in our constitution and it is the current law of the land, until it is changed.

In an era where fake news can spread myths and conspiracy theories with extreme efficiency, it is more important than ever for elected politicians to use what authority they have to present the facts and set people straight.

Torture is wrong, and that fact is so self-evident that it shouldn't have to be said. It also doesn't 'work' in extracting reliable confessions. It is an abhorrent relic of the darkest chapters of human history, and in 2017 there is simply no place for torture as a policy of democratic governments.

The anti-18C argument only survives because it is based on misrepresentation of the way in which this provision works.