A tumultuous first week of the new Parliament has come to an end with the Government stymied in its bid to raise the debt ceiling and facing mounting pressure over its control of information about asylum seekers.

Reprising a favourite tactic of Tony Abbott while in Opposition, Labor called on a motion to suspend standing orders in the final minutes of the television broadcast of Question Time.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten interrupted questions to condemn Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Immigration Minister Scott Morrison over the Government's clampdown on details about asylum seeker boat arrivals and detention issues.

Mr Shorten told Parliament the Government is "addicted to secrecy" and "hiding behind the military".

"Everything's operational. Everything's to do with the military. Everything's on a boat. Everything is on the water, and he is at sea," he said of Mr Morrison.

Mr Morrison has refused to answer Opposition questions in Parliament this week, invoking his commitment to only address issues publicly at a weekly briefing - due tomorrow - alongside the military commander of Operation Sovereign Borders.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-14/tumultuous-week-in-parliament-ends-with-labor-attack-on-secrecy/5092746

The secret trade deal favouring big drug companies

Posted Tue 26 Nov 2013, 9:08pm AEDT

After years of secret negotiations, WikiLeaks has shone a light on the Trans Pacific Partnership, the proposed regional trade deal between Pacific Rim countries, including Australia. If it goes ahead, it could be a huge win for big pharmaceutical companies but a blow for generic drug makers and public health resources.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-26/the-secret-trade-deal-favouring-big-drug-companies/5118460

Two weeks ago, Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli promised to drop the price of Daraprim, a parasite-fighting drug, after raising it from $13.50 a tablet to $750 a tablet. But so far the price tag hasn't budged.

Shkreli, a former hedge fund manager who acquired Turing in August, first drew criticism after a USA Today article reported the 5,000 percent price hike. He then told ABC News in September that the company would "lower the price of Daraprim to a point that is more affordable and is able to allow the company to make a profit, but a very small profit."

Business Insider writes:

That hasn't happened yet. A 30-day, 30-pill supply of Daraprim would cost me $27,006 at my local pharmacy.

That boils down to about $900 a pill, which includes the wholesale cost, along with specific pharmacy fees based on the zip code I gave the pharmacy.

So while the price of the drug hasn't gotten any higher since Shkreli hiked it 5,000%, it hasn't gotten any lower since he promised to reduce it either. Turing did not respond to Business Insider's request for clarification about this price.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/10/martin-shkreli-still-hasnt-dropp...