Foreign minister Julie Bishop to announce an overhaul of Australia's $5bn aid program as political contention over the budget continues. All the developments from Canberra, live
5.29pm AEST
Sorry, there is no conclusion. We are currently thanking the gardeners and the gym staff.
5.25pm AEST
Hogg fires up in his conclusion. He's speaking now of issues of conscience. Politicians have to be able to vote with their hearts and their beliefs on isues like same sex marriage. He acknowledges his own (socially conservative) views are perhaps not widely held, but he insists having a diversity of views is healthy. Hogg thanks the ALP and his union the Australian Workers Union.
5.18pm AEST
For a chap not wanting to make a valedictory, these are lengthy remarks. Hogg nominates his various career highlights and touches on a couple of significant challenges for his successors in the Senate.
He contends the Australian parliament is a 19th century model in a 21st century world. Hogg says politics needs to have a vision for how this parliament will meet the challenges of modernity. He says the lack of proper funding for the parliamentary departments doesn't help. Hogg suggests the ICT systems are antiquated. He thinks the current cutbacks cannot continue.
We must give our Senators and members the best facilities to do their work.
5.05pm AEST
The outgoing Senate president John Hogg is standing from his presiding chair. He's not intending to make a valedictory speech this evening (there are a couple due today, just as there was a couple yesterday); even though he's retiring. Hogg says he'd just like a few farewell remarks. Colleagues have gathered.
Hogg:
I'm going of my own choice. That's a wonderful way to leave politics.
4.47pm AEST
There are no words for how wrong this is.
I am working in Parliament tonight and living in hope for a VICTORY to end the drought. #nswblues pic.twitter.com/qTm5rm4gj2
4.33pm AEST
Back to East Jerusalem for just a moment, the shadow foreign minister Tanya Plibersek, is on Sky News this afternoon.
While Labor wouldn't support a vote on that Greens/Xenophon Senate motion I highlighted a moment ago, Plibersek doesn't hestitate in describing East Jerusalem as "occupied" territory. She says East Jerusalem doesn't have to be referred to as "occupied" in every single reference, but denying that it's occupied territory is deliberately provocative, she says. It aligns Australia with people who favour annexation. It's also a position that doesn't logically sit with a two state solution policy, Plibersek suggests.
4.25pm AEST
I did promise you some reaction from aid groups to today's shift on foreign aid policy. My colleague Daniel Hurst has been out gathering views from the stakeholders. Here is his extremely helpful summation.
Charities and the non-government sector welcomed elements of Bishop's proposals, such as the focus on female involvement and performance benchmarks, but raised concern over the need to ensure benefits from "aid for trade" flowed to the people in greatest need and reduced poverty.
4.20pm AEST
In a post at 11.24am, I pointed you to a motion the Senate was due to consider this afternoon objecting to the Coalition's policy shift on the terminology used to describe East Jerusalem. This is a motion brought forward by the Greens and by independent Nick Xenophon.
Even though Labor has been having a small field day at the government's expense over the East Jerusalem imbroglio Labor's Senate leader Penny Wong says the ALP won't allow this motion to proceed to a vote.
4.00pm AEST
Liberal senator Ian Macdonald is wearing a jumper under his suit coat. It's a cold day here, but I suspect this is not a good sign. The Senate has been warbling away, having a cackle, is probably a reasonable description, for the last ten minutes or so, about his Argentinian tango over the past couple of days on the debt tax. (Argentinian tango is metaphorical in this instance, not literal.)
Macdonald is taking a point or order to object to people cackling and misquoting him. The slings and arrow of outrageous fortune are not to be borne, it would seem.
3.44pm AEST
The union royal commission has heard evidence today from HSU official Kathy Jackson. I haven't followed proceedings because I'm in a different city and I'm keen to ensure my brain doesn't actually explode. Madness, I know.
If you are keen to catch up, here's a news story.
3.36pm AEST
Justice Steven Rares in the first instance threw out the Ashby case in quite an extraordinary judgment in 2012. But that judgment was overturned earlier this year. Now, the saga looks to be over.
3.31pm AEST
We should catch up on a couple of things now that we can actually hear ourselves think.
It's been an extraordinary tale from start to finish so I daresay we shouldn't be shocked that the case dubbed Ashbygate ends not with a bang, but with a whimper.
The former staffer said he was aware of public reports that Slipper was mentally unwell and he did not want to continue with lengthy proceedings that could cause further harm.
"More than two years ago, I launched legal action in the federal court against Peter Slipper ... for sexual harassment and breach of contract," Ashby said in a statement emailed from his publicist. "After deep reflection and consultation with those close to me, I now have decided to seek leave to discontinue my federal court action against Peter Slipper. This has been an intense and emotionally draining time for me and my family, taking its toll on us all."
3.18pm AEST
Fortunately for all of us, Question Time has ended.
Most underwhelming #qt for quite a while.
3.10pm AEST
Bill Shorten:
Q: Before the election the prime minister promised Australians no change to pensions. But the prime minister has since cut the indexation of pensions and will force Australians to work until 70 years of age the oldest retirement age in the world.
Madam Speaker, there are no changes to pensions in this term of parliament. Simple as that. There are no changes to pensions in this term of parliament.
Pensions go up every year. Every March, pensions go up.
2.59pm AEST
I've known the agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce for a very long time so please understand that I'm not making this observation gratuitously. Joyce tends to colour up to an alaming degree when he's at the dispatch box answering questions. His colour borders on purple.
In any case, today, there was a question about drought funding.
Back on the 4th of March, we got through the interim farm family payment for which over 1300 people had applied for, and received.
So there's quite a few dollars in that, you clown! So we actually are getting it out.
2.52pm AEST
Abbott ducks a question about recent correspondence sent by the member for Hume to his electors about the proposed $7 GP copayment (which asserts incorrectly that the copayments will not apply to people who cannot afford to pay) by talking about Labor's Andrew Leigh.
When Andrew Leigh was still a university professor he supported copayments in health. This is the defence the government mounts most often when Labor advances on the copyaments. If it's good enough for Andrew Leigh ..
2.48pm AEST
Part of the newsletter-off (which I'm still sparing you) is a bare knuckle beat down on personal integrity between the two party leaders.
Shorten's whole attack point in Question Time today is the prime minister lied about the budget.
The barefaced gall. The absolute hide. The sheer front of this person. An absolute serial deceiver of the Australian people, just as he was a serial deceiver of the former prime minister Rudd and former prime minister Gillard.
If this leader of the Opposition wants to talk about telling the truth, if this leader of the Opposition wants to talk about being trustworthy, well we are coming up to the fourth anniversary of his trust worthiness to prime minister Rudd and we are coming up to the first anniversary of his trust worthiness with prime minister Gillard.
2.42pm AEST
We've had a brief newsletter-off, which I think I'll spare you, because it was pretty much turkey on turkey. No offence to poultry.
The foreign minister hasn't had much exposure today so she's getting a Dorothy Dixer to speak about the aid budget. She moves quickly from the aid budget to the member for Kingsford Smith, Labor's Matt Thistlethwaite.
Where is the money coming from? More debt!
But you shouldn't expect too much from the member for Kingsford-Smith don't expect too much, because back when he was in government he was telling us that he was eminently qualified to be the parliamentary secretary this is assertion the parliamentary secretary for Pacific Island affairs because he regularly swims at Sydney's beaches.
2.33pm AEST
The number of children in detention is declining. The number of children in detention now right across our own networks offshore is now less than a thousand. It has fallen by a third since the election. It has fallen by almost 50% in mainland centres across Australia. And you know how you get children out of detention? You stop the boats. That is how you do it. That is what this government is doing.
This is the immigration minister Scott Morrison, in a Dorothy Dixer about boats.
2.25pm AEST
The member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie.
Q: My question is to the prime minister. Prime minister, the UN will shortly decide Australia's request to de-list 74,000 hectares of Tasmanian world heritage forest.
I want the people of Tasmania to be able to work in forests as well as to walk in forests.
2.19pm AEST
2.18pm AEST
The NSW budget now. Labor's deputy leader Tanya Plibersek.
Q: I refer to the prime minister's last answer and his continued denials that he is cutting health and education.
This is a bonanza for the state governments under this government.
2.11pm AEST
Anyway enough of my true confessions. You don't need them. Not even I need them.
Labor wants to know how this can possibly be an honest budget (as the prime minister has said) when it's full of dishonesty.
Madam Speaker, this is the right budget for Australia. This is a fair budget, an honest budget and, above all else, it's the right budget for Australia because it deals with Labor's debt and deficit disaster.
2.08pm AEST
We are opening proceedings with Labor wondering why Tony Abbott hates tradies.
Q: Today, prime minister, is national TAFE Day, when we mark the opportunities and training that these important institutions provide to so many young Australians starting out in the work force. Why, then, is the prime minister determined to destroy opportunity for Australia's 400,000 apprentices by cutting almost $1bn for the tools for your trade program?
I value and appreciate the great work that our tradies do.
1.50pm AEST
I think this is worth placing on the record. In answer to one of the questions at the NPC, Bishop gave a pithy description of Australia's foreign policy under the Abbott government.
If you want a simple straightforward statement about Coalition foreign policy, it is unmistakably to project and protect Australia's reputation as an open export orientated, successful market economy and an open liberal democracy, committed to freedoms, democratic institutions and the rule of law.
That is what our foreign policy is designed to do.
1.39pm AEST
That event has wrapped now. I'll chase up some reaction from aid groups once we get through safely to the other side of Question Time which is coming at me like a freight train.
Let's catch up on double dissolutions.
I think Australians would prefer Mr Abbott keep his promises from the last election.
Tony Abbott is all talk - if he wants an election, he should bring it on.
1.34pm AEST
Q: Will aid be applied to the imminent Cambodia refugee resettlement deal? If so what standards will be applied, what would happen if those standards aren't met and, overall, what would happen when standards are not met with all the aid innovation developments and projects?
Will countries be left adrift?
The relationship with Cambodia has not been reduced to a written agreement and so we are still discussing with Cambodia the way in which it wants to contribute to the Bali process and be a constructive regional partner.
We already provide Cambodia with about $80m a year in aid assistance and that will be applied in accordance with the bench marks and the framework and the policies that I set out today.
1.27pm AEST
Q: How much confidence do you have in the PNG government given the allegations of corruption against Peter O'Neill and his decision to sack the man who brought forward those allegations?
Bishop:
Papua New Guinea is one of our dearest, closest friends.
Papua New Guineans are family.
I understand that there will be a judgment on Monday, or early next week and I hope that we will be able to get Peter Greste home as soon as possible.
Our relationship with PNG will only be enhanced through this process because we are sitting down together, talking through, line by line what we intend to do, with them as partners.
We are not lecturing them, they are our partners, our family and we will work through it with them to get better outcomes for the people of PNG.
1.22pm AEST
The foreign minister is asked whether securing a seat on the UN Security Council was worth it. Bishop is still objecting to Kevin Rudd using the aid budget to "buy votes on the UN Security Council." That is not my idea an aid program, she says. But as we are there, we will pull our weight.
Then she's asked whether there are lessons to be drawn from the Middle East (meaning Iraq). Bishop says noone could have forseen events in Syria when American forces departed Iraq. Australia stands ready to assist with humanitarian initiatives.
We are not going to embrace Labor's trajectory of spending.
1.13pm AEST
Bishop is asked about improving goverance in PNG. She says Australia is seking a new economic partnership with PNG.
Then she's asked whether we should pack our bags for a new election.
Just because you are given a trigger, it doesn't mean you have to pull it.
1.09pm AEST
Keeping it easy. A question on the Australia Network, axed in the budget.
Q: One of the key roles of the Australia Network has been to project soft diplomacy into the region. Now that the government has taken that contract away from the ABC, how does it intend to fulfil that task?
Fortunately, with advances in technology, should the ABC wish to continue its broadcast into the region and I certainly hope it does, then technology will be on its side.
Apparently you just have to lift the geoblock and you can watch AFL.
Not funded by the Australian taxpayer, other than the funding that already goes to the ABC.
1.05pm AEST
Questions now, and we are straight into East Jerusalem.
Q: I have learned that on Monday, or about Tuesday, you have received a letter from the Secretary-General of the Arab League officially protesting George Brandis' enunciation of the policy. I want to know what your message will be with regards to East Jerusalem to the Arab League and to others in the region? And secondly, were you aware of the new policy before it was enunciated by Senator Brandis?
There is no change in policy.
There is no change in policy so I can't be aware of something that doesn't exist.
I was aware of the reaffirmation of the same policy.
1.00pm AEST
I'm going to move you past a brief reference to a jolly roger pirate flag with a kangaroo with a crossbow because it's just silly. Bishop says an innovation hub will be set up in her department to drive best practice in aid. She ends by saying the Coalition takes the long view on aid and development.
12.57pm AEST
Now Bishop is into health, education and humanitarian assistance. The foreign minister says Australia's aid program must continue to invest in people.
She also nominates a personal passion.
Our aid program will promote the empowerment of women and girls in our region. When women are able to actively participate in the economy and in the community decision-making, everybody benefits.
We will focus in particular on women's economic empowerment, on promoting women's leadership in politics, business, communities and families and on eliminating violence against women and children.
12.51pm AEST
This next section of the speech concerns mutual obligation and performance benchmarks. If aid projects aren't working, they will be performance managed, and if that doesn't work, they will be axed.
She says Australia's aid program will give priority to infrastructure and to "aid for trade" projects. Another focus is improving governance, and supporting anti-corruption measures.
This is a process of developing mature relationships with our near neighbours.
We must get away from the old stereotypes of aid donor and aid recipient and embrace the concept of economic partnerships.
12.45pm AEST
The foreign minister says the Coalition has "stabilsed" the aid budget at $5bn per annum. And it has streamlined functions, merging the departments of foreign affairs and trade.
Aid funding at that level is "a generous aid program that puts Australia among the top 10 donors in the OECD world," Bishop says. And government should not be the only player in development assistance.
We have aligned the goal of poverty reduction with the pursuit of regional economic growth. This goal is in Australia's national interest as well as unambiguously in the interests of our region. It is consistent with our focus on economic diplomacy, just as traditional diplomacy seeks to promote peace, economic diplomacy seeks to promote prosperity.
This means there must be a major role for the private sector in the development sphere. It is important also to leverage new sources of development capital to pursue our objectives. The performance framework that I will announce today is agnostic about how aid is delivered, other than to ensure it is effective and efficient and we partner with the most effective organisations that have the capability to achieve the best possible results.
12.39pm AEST
The foreign minister is at the podium at the National Press Club to speak in detail about the government's shift in foreign aid policy.
Bishop speaks of the economic transformation currently underway in our region.
As aid deliverers, we should be aiming for aid recipient nations to transform into sustainable economies do ourselves out of a job not perpetuating past approaches that are not effective.
One of the key challenges is that today, most of the world's poor live in middle income countries. Two-thirds of Australia's development partners in the Indian ocean Asia Pacific region have achieved middle income status.
12.28pm AEST
The government has responded to the Senate's blocking of the abolition of the CEFC by saying it will reintroduce a bill on the measure next week.
Here's a joint statement from treasurer Joe Hockey and finance minister Mathias Cormann.
The government took the abolition of the carbon tax and the CEFC to the 2013 federal election. This mandate has now been ignored by Labor and the Greens twice. The government does not believe it is appropriate to keep borrowing money to underwrite a $10bn taxpayer funded bank that cherry picks investments in direct competition with the private sector. Australia does not have a good history with government owned banks.
12.13pm AEST
My colleague, Bridie Jabour, has been keeping her eye on childcare. Thanks to here for this little snap.
12.09pm AEST
It's occurred to me that it may help the sum of human knowledge if I remind readers what the CEFC is, and does. It's a green bank basically, set up as part of the clean energy package that the Coalition wants to abolish.
Here's its little blurb.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) invests using a commercial approach to overcome market barriers and mobilise investment in renewable energy and lower emissions technologies. These investments are improving energy productivity and lowering energy costs for businesses across Australia, and helping to develop local industries and new employment opportunities.
In 2013, the CEFC's investments of $536m mobilised on average $2.90 of private sector investment for every $1 of CEFC investment and will achieve abatement of 3.88m tonnes of CO2e per annum.
11.58am AEST
I bring you good news of great joy. Tony Abbott has his first theoretical double dissolution trigger. (I say theoretical just in a practical sense for all the huffing and puffing about mandates, it doesn't make any sense that the prime minister would actually go to an election when every major opinion poll suggests the Coalition would get hammered. But perhaps I'm missing a very important subtlety. It wouldn't be the first time.)
Anyhow, just the facts M'am. The Senate has again rejected the government's bill to abolish the CEFC. South Australian independent Nick Xenophon voted with Labor and the Greens to protect the CEFC. DLP Senator John Madigan abstained.
11.50am AEST
The foreign minister is taking questions after giving her speech on the Australia/US alliance at a conference in Canberra. Julie Bishop is asked about potential conflict in the South China sea. The foreign minister speaks about the importance of de-escalating conflict.
I see our role as encouraging consultation and peaceful negotiations.
11.35am AEST
The prime minister is at the National Gallery of Australia this morning, and has stopped very briefly with reporters. Tony Abbott is asked, High Court endorsement of Manus Island notwithstanding, whether the government should change policy on offshore processing. Nope. The Manus facility, the PM reasons, is stopping the boats.
Abbott:
This is a very important policy for our country and an important policy for human welfare.
11.24am AEST
The foreign minister Julie Bishop is having a busy day. She's making a speech about the US alliance this morning, which I'll track down when there's a spare minute. And there's that press club event on foreign aid coming up that I flagged first up.
Given an absolute shambles of a television performance she put in yesterday, Bishop will no doubt be asked questions about Australia's policy on the Middle East when she fronts the NPC at lunchtime.
11.11am AEST
Here's a clip of Greens leader Christine Milne's speech in the CEFC debate, which includes the reference to Tony Abbott being "effectively barking mad" on climate change.
The issue is that the prime minister is actually a big risk to Australia. The analogy I used was that if there was an army off our shores and a prime minister said he couldn't see it and what's more he was going to stand down our defence forces then the country would remove him because they would see that he was a danger to the security of the nation.
The point I was making here was to use a colloquialism to say that Tony Abbott is rejecting and refusing to see the biggest challenge facing us and in so doing it's a massive opportunity cost to the country.
11.04am AEST
The House is on childcare at the present time, and the Senate is still on the CEFC. There may be a vote on the CEFC abolition today it's not yet entirely clear. Also introduced this morning legislation in the House of Representatives to implement the government's Emissions Reduction Fund one of the key planks of the Coalition's direct action policy.
10.48am AEST
Here is the statement from the High Court. The Manus facility is Constitutional, and there was nothing wrong with the designation process that gave legal underpinning to the facility.
The High Court unanimously held that ss 198AB and 198AD are valid under the aliens power conferred by s 51(xix) of the Constitution. The provisions operate to effect the removal of unauthorised maritime arrivals (UMAs) from Australia and are therefore laws with respect to a class of aliens.
The Court also upheld the validity of the designation decision and the direction decision. It held that there is nothing in the text or scope of subdiv B to support the plaintiff's argument that there were relevant considerations which the minister was obliged to, but did not, take into account in making the designation decision.
10.32am AEST
Here's Green Senator Sarah Hanson Young, responding to the High Court ruling.
High court rules Manus Is detention is constitutional. What remains true is that it is inhumane, unsafe & untenable as a place for refugees
10.21am AEST
#BREAKING: The High Court has ruled the offshore processing of #asylumseekers on Manus Island is constitutional #auspol #abcnews24
10.18am AEST
Heath Services Union official Kathy Jackson is giving evidence at the royal commission into trade unions this morning. If I can chase down news on that later, I will.
The High Court ruling on Manus is due any minute. I'll bring you that when it's handed down.
10.09am AEST
Earlier this morning (8.54am) I pointed you in the direction of a brewing argument on asset recycling and privatisations.
Legislation on that issue will hit the House of Representatives this morning. Labor wants to amend the government proposal to insist that a cost/benefit analysis be carried out before any infrastructure project proceeds; and to give the parliament an effective right of veto over privatisations.
10.01am AEST
Milne says when the Senate votes down this CEFC abolition bill Tony Abbott will have a double dissolution trigger.
Milne argues if the prime minister is so confident about his policy direction on climate policy, he should use it.
Go to an election on it because increasingly Australians are recognising how conned they were by the absolute tripe, superficial nonsense of 'axe the tax.'
9.44am AEST
Milne isn't holding back in this debate.
Abolishing the CEFC is
.. is an isolationist, rust bucket strategy.
Here we have a prime minister who is effectively barking mad on climate change.
9.38am AEST
Let's look in on the Senate. Debate has resumed this morning on the Abbott government's bill to abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
The Greens leader Christine Milne is speaking.
9.30am AEST
Yesterday on Politics Live I pointed readers to an event in Sydney last night hosted by a group called Open Labor a bunch of interesting folks intent on achieving more democratisation in the ALP.
I'm interested to see a tussle on Twitter this morning between Josh Bornstein a Melbourne lawyer involved with Open Labor, and some Labor folks.
To federal ALP: forget the focus groups & stop talking in code.The sky will not fall in if you use the "i" word: "inequality". #auspol
But @JoshBBornstein we use it frequently! http://t.co/Va1N5Eq2sg
9.08am AEST
Good morning and welcome to Canberra for day 2 of the June sittings pic.twitter.com/TQOuPJePtK
Breaking: still foggy.
8.54am AEST
Speaking of imbroglios, the government is also facing turbulence in the Senate on infrastructure and privatisations.
Phil Coorey and Laura Tingle report in The Australian Financial Review this morning that the numbers aren't there for the government's asset recycling initiative (the program that will provide incentives to the states to flog their assets and invest the proceeds in infrastructure.)
The Australian Greens and the Palmer United Party are set to oppose the legislation on the basis they are against privatisation while Labor will insist on changes that will give either house of federal parliament a veto on the types of assets the states can sell.
8.45am AEST
While I have an ear on Sky, the shadow immigration minister Richard Marles is signalling that if the High Court knocks out Manus at 10.15am Labor stands ready to help the government clean up. (If Manus is knocked out on the basis PNG wasn't properly designated, the government will blame Labor for not getting the technical underpinnings right.)
8.42am AEST
On Sky News, infrastructure minister Jamie Briggs was just asked about the Muir story. How on earth is that going to work, wonders Sky's Kieran Gilbert?
Who knows, Briggs says, adding that lower house MPs mostly find the Senate unfathomable. He predicts that collective bemused vague incomprehension will continue.
8.32am AEST
Now I reckon this is the standout winner in the 'curiouser and curiouser' category this morning.
My colleague Lenore Taylor has been speaking with the Motoring Enthusiast party. Incoming Senator Ricky Muir has been thought to be a job lot with Clive Palmer and the PUP voting bloc in terms of crossbench numbers. Not so, say Muir camp operatives. Muir hasn't decided how he'll proceed on a number of key votes, including the repeals of the carbon and mining taxes.
Senator elect Ricky Muir will make his own voting decisions and will work with any political party that shares his values his Motoring Enthusiast party says, deliberately distancing itself from the Palmer United party within weeks of the start of the new Senate.
And Motoring Enthusiast party founder and soon-to-be adviser to Muir, Keith Littler, insists Muir has not decided how he will vote on the mining and carbon tax repeals.
8.25am AEST
To preschool now, and childcare funding.
My colleague Bridie Jabour has an interesting story this morning about early childhood programs. She reports: "Fifteen hours a week of government-funded pre-school for every Australian child is at risk, as the federal government drags out negotiations over the national partnership with the states." The states are clearly worried that the Abbott government is retreating from pre-school funding.
The Labor Partys decision to support the freeze on the child care rebate will end up hurting 150,000 families a year. Labor needs to stop flip-flopping on childcare and vote to block both measures in the Senate.
8.04am AEST
Exhibit A. Fog.
Good morning @jamesmassola @mearesy pic.twitter.com/QOpvWsK75f
8.01am AEST
Another key event today to mention in early dispatches is the High Court is set to rule on the legality of the Manus Island immigration detention centre. The case is considering whether legislation designating Papua New Guinea as a regional processing country is valid under the Constitution.
It's obviously impossible to know which way the court will jump in this case, but the then Labor government got a nasty shock on 2011 when the court knocked out the so-called Malaysia Solution the proposed people swap deal with Malaysia. As the ABC notes this morning, there is a key difference. Malaysia was not a signatory to the international refugee convention, PNG is.
7.49am AEST
Good morning and welcome to foggy Canberra. We have an exceptionally fine pea souper here in the capital this morning, but I'll do you the first favour of the day by desisting from gratutious fog metaphors. I hope the morning is treating you well.
There are a number of stories to get into early. Yesterday the Abbott government managed to legislate its first major budget measure when the debt tax cleared the Senate. There is continuing contention this morning about a number of other policy measures but more of that shortly.
Continue reading...