The wrap
The House is going to continue with the marriage equality speeches until midnight but we are going to call it a night.
It’s been quite the day. We have new foreign donation and interference legislation to chew over and now the citizenship register.
David Feeney looks to be in trouble. That is going to cause some issues for Labor, given Bill Shorten’s assurances that all was in order. While some, such as Justine Keay, Josh Wilson and Susan Lamb (although it is unclear whether the UK authorities consider her to have held citizenship rights), seem to have renounced before the nomination date but not received confirmation back in time, Feeney says he sent letters off in 2007 but never heard back.
Now they can’t find the record of his renouncement. He has asked to be referred to the high court if those records can’t be found.
On the other side of the chamber, there are some problems with Jason Falinski and Josh Frydenberg, both of whom said they were receiving advice but had not released it.
Rebekha Sharkie from the NXT didn’t get her confirmation back in time. Katy Gallagher, who was a senator from 2015, renounced before the 2016 election but didn’t receive confirmation back until after the nomination date.
And then there are others, including Nola Marino and then those with Greek heritage who potentially still have questions.
I think it is safe to say that this is going to dominate tomorrow’s proceedings.
We’ll also have more on the marriage equality debate, plus more Kristina Keneally, probably.
As always, big thank you to the heroic Mike Bowers. Please check out his day at @mpbowers and @mikepbowers. Thank you to the Guardian Australia team for keeping me sane with a constant stream of tea, coffee and sugar and, of course, to you for playing along. We have two more scheduled sitting days! That, if nothing else today, is worth celebrating.
I’ll be back bright and early tomorrow morning for the remaining fun and games. You can catch me at @amyremeikis in the meantime. Have a lovely night.
Updated
Nola Marino says she is sure she is not an Italian citizen through marriage but will not release the documents.
Updated
David Feeney is addressing the Federation chamber about potential citizenship issues.
He said he was told by the Labor executive he should renounce both Irish and UK citizenship in October 2007, signing the documents and understood they had been sent.
He says that as part of his declaration he called the UK Home Office to get his renunciation but was told they were having trouble locating the information, and do not keep records that far back.
He said searches are ongoing but accepts that, as it stands, his citizenship status is unclear and will, if the documents can not be found, refer himself to the high court.
Updated
Julia Banks has attached the statement she received from the Greek embassy in Canberra, and says she sought legal advice to further assure herself she was not a dual citizen but will not release it.
Josh Wilson renounced his British citizenship on 13 May but didn’t receive confirmation of his renoucement until after the 9 June 2016 nomination date.
Updated
Josh Frydenberg said he has sought legal advice to assure himself he is not a dual-citizenship by descent but has not attached it
Jason Falinski declares he has made inquiries and sought his own legal advice but will not waive legal professional privilege in regards to that advice.
Updated
Emma Husar says she made inquiries, determined she wasn't Polish but sent this renunciation anyway. No return document confirming it was effective. #auspol pic.twitter.com/DfcNN4ROYL
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) December 5, 2017
Susan Lamb, who is one of the Labor MPs who has been under the spotlight, says in her declaration her renunciation declaration was refused, as the UK authorities “cannot be satisfied” from the documents she provided that she held British citizenship.
Justine Keay, who has also been questioned over the possibility of British citizenship by descent, said she sent her forms off on 13 May 2016 but doesn’t appear to have received official confirmation.
Rebekha Sharkie has also given her dates, saying she sent off her paperwork on 19 April 2016 to the British authorities.
David Feeney said he renounced Irish citizenship out of “an abundance of caution” (his dad was born in Northern Ireland) in October 2007 but doesn’t appear to have received official confirmation.
Updated
House citizenship declarations made public
The citizenship declarations for the House have been published
You’ll find them here
The shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, had one main message for the government on the foreign interference laws and foreign agents register: “What took them so long?”
Dreyfus: “Not only has Labor been trying to legislate a ban on foreign donations for a very long time, we called on the government six months ago to do something about foreign interference in our political processes, to introduce a foreign agents register.”
On foreign donations, Dreyfus asked whether “the government is able to separate its party political interests, its own partisan concerns, from the national interest”.
He claimed Malcolm Turnbull and George Brandis were “obsessed” with GetUp, to which the foreign donation ban would apply, because it hits third-party campaign and advocacy groups.
Asked if Labor could support the foreign donation ban despite the fact those third party groups are not exempt, Dreyfus said it had focused on banning donations to “political parties and associated entities” but Labor would wait to see the detail of which organisations would be caught up in the extension of the ban to other groups.
Updated
Adam Bandt, wearing a rainbow tie and pocket square, held a moment of silence for LGBTIQ people and allies who have lost their lives, during his speech on the marriage equality legislation.
Updated
GetUp has responded to the government’s proposed legislation:
The Turnbull government just put forward legislation to attack those who speak out against its policies while letting its big multinational mates, like Adani, off the hook.
GetUp national director Paul Oosting said polls show Australians are deeply concerned about the corrupting influence of cash from greedy corporations in our democracy.
“This bill does nothing to address the influence big business has on our politicians. The rivers of gold flowing from corporate donors like Adani, Exxon and Chevron stay open and industry bodies like the Minerals Council of Australia can continue to campaign unimpeded. In stark contrast, the government is trying to weaken organisations that represent and support everyday people,” Mr Oosting said.
“The Turnbull government has sought to attack civil society organisations who advocate for children, the homeless and our environment and to cut off their ability to scrutinise government policy.
“It’s yet another example of overreach from this government which has gagged doctors from speaking out about abuse in offshore detention, defunded climate scientists and attempted to curtail the work of public broadcasters like the ABC.”
Mr Oosting said GetUp is funded by Australians.
“As Senator Cormann would well know, 0.5% of GetUp’s funding has come from foreign donations over our 12 years of operation. GetUp also voluntarily discloses significantly more financial information than is required by law, because we believe in transparency.”
A full breakdown of GetUp’s donations was provided to the joint standing committee on electoral matters and is publicly available.
Updated
You’ll find the amendments to the marriage equality legislation here
The human services minister, Alan Tudge, has responded to Labor’s announcement it will not support extending the cashless welfare card trial without amendments:
They have joined the Greens in opposing the card irrespective of the devastation that alcohol is causing these communities, paid by the welfare dollar.
These communities are crying out for help, to stop the drug and alcohol abuse; to stop the violence and to build better lives for their children.
Why does Labor want to support welfare dollars continuing to go to alcohol and drugs knowing the devastation it causes in these places?
The card is not a panacea but it is has led to a fundamental improvement in these communities. There are very few other initiatives that have had such impact.
Updated
Samantha Maiden from Sky News is reporting the House citizenship declarations could be published as early as tonight.
Special visitor to the office this afternoon 🏳️🌈❤️ pic.twitter.com/ylXnhYBxqJ
— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) December 5, 2017
In her speech, Linda Burney spoke of her late son, Binni, who she lost barely a month ago, in explaining why she would be voting yes, despite her electorate of Barton being one that returned a majority no vote in the marriage equality survey.
I support marriage equality as someone who has, and has had, loved ones who identify as LGBTIQ. To them, marriage equality would mean so much. I honour these people and, in particular, my late son, Binni. And I support marriage equality as someone who is a member of a community that has experienced great discrimination and injustice and understands what it means to be rejected, understands what intergenerational trauma feels like and what hurt and distress does to you. Just as the 1967 referendum fundamentally transformed the way we talked about, perceive, value and treat Aboriginal Australians, I truly believe that the passage of the marriage equality bill will make a similar positive transformation of our nation.”
Her speech touched those from across the political spectrum. But she was just as determined her electorate was represented as she believed it deserved:
I represent one of the most multicultural electorates in the nation. I note that some media reports suggest that the ‘no’ vote correlated with the ethnic enclave in suburban Sydney but I would issue great caution against this interpretation or analysis of the postal survey results.
Even if all the voters from non-English-speaking backgrounds in my electorate and in Australia voted no, it would still not account for the entirety of the ‘no’ vote. So, let’s just get a little perspective on these results. I am proud of my electorate. I am proud of the fact that the electorate of Barton is one of the most multiculturally diverse in this country. And they are proud of me. It wasn’t this diversity that was the cause for the ‘no’ vote in Barton.
Voters want conviction from us as politicians; they want truth. My conviction, my life and what it stands for is equity, and that means yes to this proposition. It means yes in eloquence; it means yes, and it’s heartfelt. It means yes because it is the decent and the right thing to do. It will help us grow up as a nation; it will broaden us as a nation. It would also say to a community that has experienced enormous hurt and enormous discrimination, including legal discrimination, that finally, ‘We love you, we embrace you and you are as equal as anyone in Australia.’
Updated
Mark Dreyfus says Labor will back the foreign donations ban (which is something they have called for, for about a year) but they are not going to accept the bans on groups like GetUp accepting foreign donations.
Labor also wants an inquiry into the proposed laws and their impact. We’ll have more on that soon.
Updated
There has been a lot going on today, but I recommend you take some time out to watch this.
"I support marriage equality as someone who has, and has had, loved ones who identify as LGBTIQ. To them, marriage equality would mean so much" pic.twitter.com/UAj4UdqWZt
— Linda Burney MP (@LindaBurneyMP) December 5, 2017
George Brandis reminds us that Peter Dutton will be sworn in as home affairs minister before the end of the year.
Brandis also says that it is “his intention” to stay on. That would be despite the rumours, which will not go away, that he is almost out the door.
Updated
At least Kristina Keneally has a sense of humour about her new found QT fame
Prediction: next #qt, Libs will blame me for the Lindbergh kidnapping, the weeds in your yard, & pushing my brother down the stairs in 1976.
— Kristina Keneally (@KKeneally) December 5, 2017
* She did push her brother down the stairs. That one, she says, is true.
Updated
Mark Dreyfus will be talking on those proposed laws at 3.45pm.
Updated
The amendments to the government’s proposed new foreign interference and foreign donations laws have begun. This has just come through from Rachel Siewert’s office:
The Australian Greens will move amendments to the government’s foreign donations bill to make sure all charities and not-for-profits in Australia can continue to advocate for policy outcomes, including those that receive international philanthropic donations, Australian Greens senator Rachel Siewert said today.
“There are many charities and not-for-profits that rely on international philanthropy to work on important issues such as saving the Great Barrier Reef, finding new treatments for incurable diseases and fighting Aids and malaria in developing countries. The government’s proposed changes seek to stop charities from doing their good work on humanitarian causes and protecting our environment.
“The far-right of the Liberal party and their mates in the Minerals Council of Australia are ganging up on our charities, trying to limit the ability of community organisations to conduct important advocacy work.
“Fortunately, the ALP and the crossbench supported my motion yesterday that noted the important role of charities and attempts by the government to stifle them. I trust they will support the Australian Greens’ amendments to protect charities.
“Civil society is a key part of a strong and healthy democracy and advocacy is an essential part of the role of civil society.
“In trying to limit the advocacy of charities and not-for-profits, the government is setting a dangerous precedent. The work of charities across the board in different areas should be congratulated, not restricted.”
The Greens will also move an amendment to extend a ban on donations to political parties from domestic industries such as tobacco and gambling, Australian Greens senator Lee Rhiannon said today.
“With this bill, the government has admitted that big money corrupts politics. Whether it’s yuan from Beijing or dollars from Sydney, big money corrupts our democracy.”
Updated
The man of the hour in the House of Reps question time (Kristina Keneally obviously being the woman) Sam Dastyari during question time in that other place.
Updated
A bit more from question time, courtesy of Mike Bowers
Updated
I just did a quick count through the (unofficial) transcript and Kristina Keneally’s name was mentioned 23 times today.
Twenty. Three. Times.
Question time has ended.
Bill Shorten asks to make a personal explanation and speaks about the first question he asked, which was on domestic violence leave, and the answer the prime minister gave that mentioned the CFMEU.
Shorten reiterates he did not support the comments made by some CFMEU representatives in October, (which included threats of violence against children) and was “shocked” to read them. He again calls on the government to support Labor (and the Greens) legislation to make paid domestic violence leave a reality.
Updated
The drama was strong in the House today:
Updated
David Littleproud’s community wants to know about threats to small business.
Michael McCormack just happens to know there are 29, 966 small businesses in Maranoa, which is an electorate three times the size of Victoria. I’m sure that this answer will be heading in the direction of Kristina Keneally any moment now.
Yup. There we go.
Anthony Albanese has a question for the prime minister which boils down to: “How much will the HFC delay cost taxpayers?”
After again hinting that Albanese is the anonymous MP who spoke to Fairfax about Sam Dastyari, and getting hit with a point of order, we get an answer. Sort of.
Malcolm Turnbull: “The government has not been advised about what additional costs will be consequent on the delay in the connection of premises to the NBN by customers that are on HFC.”
Updated
Ann Sudmalis’s Gilmore voters are also concerned for the people of Bennelong.
This is why Dixers are the most ridiculous convention in our parliament.
The question is about a commitment to public health. Greg Hunt answers by pointing out the dangers of electing Kristina Keneally.
Updated
Michelle Rowland also has a question on the NBN for the prime minister:
Yesterday, when speaking about the chaotic HFC rollout of his second-rate NBN, the prime minister said some customers were getting a poor experience. With internet problems the highest source of complaints to the telecommunications ombudsman, does he know how many customers are having a poor experience, or is he so out of touch he doesn’t care?
Malcolm Turnbull: (the short answer)
The last information I had from the NBN was there are about 350,000 people connected to the NBN via HFC networks.
The company has advised me 20% of them are not getting a satisfactory performance and so they put the rollout on hold so the technical issues can be addressed.
Updated
Now you see it-now you don't-Tony Burke holds a photograph released by the PM's office showing Bill Shorten & Chinese businessman Huang Xiangmo they allege that they cropped out PM Turnbull before releasing the pic. @AmyRemeikis @GuardianAus #politicslive pic.twitter.com/yb1xXWCUbT
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) December 5, 2017
The voters of Banks are also very concerned with the people of Bennelong.
I’m not sure if anyone has told the government that, chances are, voters are not watching question time and this is doing nothing but frustrating those who are.
Updated
Bill Shorten has a question for the prime minister on the NBN:
The prime minister promised that every Australian would have access to the NBN by the end of 2016. It’s now the end of 2017. Most Australians due to receive the HFC including over 40,000 premises in Bennelong do not know when they will get access to the NBN. When will the people get access to the NBN like you promised them?
Paul Fletcher steps in. The prime minister must still be recovering from his stirring impersonation.
There are the usual facts and figures and then Fletcher appears to get annoyed:
What you delivered on the NBN was a pathetic joke. You claimed to suggest that if there were a change that somehow you’d do a better job.
But the historical record does not lie. By June 2013, when you had promised to deliver 1.7 million, what you’d actually delivered was less than 20% of that.
That’s not a high distinction that’s not a credit or a pass, that is a fail. That is Labor’s record of NBN failure. Six years of dismal NBN failure and now they expect that the people of Bennelong will be so naive and so credulous as to believe that they have got a plan that’s going to do better than the performance we are seeing under the Turnbull government, where 6.5m premises are now able to connect.
What is their plan? We’ve got no idea what their plan is. Their plan at the last election they were going to deliver 2m more premises with fibre and not spend an extra dollar. They were going to reinvent the rules of economics, magic pudding comes to the NBN. You have zero credibility on the NBN.
Updated
Has anyone found a way to blame Kristina Keneally for the weather yet?
Jason Falinski shares the concerns of his electorate with the national approach to the energy market, particularly for the people of Bennelong.
Josh Frydnberg tells them everything will be fine, as long as Kristina Keneally is not elected.
Tony Burke is back:
Last year after the government became the first majority government in more than 50 years to lose control of the house, the prime minister told Neil Mitchell, ‘It won’t happen again’ and went on to say, ‘It will not happen again’.
Since then, it’s happened again and again. After losing yet another vote yesterday, can the prime minister confirm that his working majority is not a majority and doesn’t work?
Malcolm Turnbull takes the opportunity to quote Bill Shorten and is enjoying himself so much, he not only indulges his peacock strut, he also adds a theatrical flourish to the reading.
“The leader of the opposition, on the 6 September, ‘trust me’ he said, who would do that?
“Trust me, Senator Dastyari has learned that lesson very clearly’.
“And then, squaring his shoulders with a determination of a great patriot, the leader of the opposition said, ’I’ve made it crystal clear I don’t expect to see this happen again’, he knows he’s made a mistake’.
“Grinding his teeth with anger and determination ‘on balance, I’m prepared to give him a second chance’. He said, ‘I’m prepared, however, to give him a second chance because I think he can make a contribution to this country’.
“But the problem was, it wasn’t our country. It wasn’t our country. It was somebody else’s country. The character test is very simple. Can the leader of the opposition say that Senator Dastyari has put Australia first? He cannot.”
Updated
North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman can barely contain his need to express on behalf of his electorate their pressing interest about infrastructure projects being delivered in Bennelong.
Paul Fletcher, doing his best to not sound like a human yawn, has many good stories to share with the people of North Sydney, and finishes with just how bad it would be under Kristina Keneally.
Tanya Plibersek brings up Jane Hume’s comment about Milo Yiannopoulos
“And I quote, ‘a young man swaggers into Canberra, attention seeking, appeasing the far right and getting media coverage. It sounds like the Coalition party room’.
“Do his senator’s comments accurately describe the government’s policy-development process under this prime minister?”
Malcolm Turnbull:
“I can see why the honorable member was taken by those remarks because they demonstrated something she obviously lacks, which is a sense of humour. But there is nothing funny about the Labor party’s failure to stand up for Australia’s national security.
“But having said that not everybody is as weak as the leader of the opposition when it comes to protecting Australia’s security on the Labor benches. Because, I’ve seen in the Herald on 4 December, a quote from an unnamed Labor MP, who must be sitting here today, I wonder who it is? I think I know who it is ... Oh, I do. I know who it is.
“And the quote is this – I know. Your style is unmistakable. The problem – the quote is this – ‘The problem for Sam is that every time you look at him, you see someone who’s been an agent of foreign influence. And you can’t have an agent of foreign influence sitting in the senate’ that’s what that unnamed Labor MP said.”
Updated
Looks like Speaker Tony Smith has had enough.
Eden Monaro MP Mike Kelly starts with a question for Malcolm Turnbull which he begins with “is his majesty aware...” and is made to sit down by Smith, who moves straight to the next question.
Damian Drum, the member for Murray, takes his backbencher opportunity to ask a question on behalf of his community, which is on border protection.
Peter Dutton answers with what Kristina Keneally would want to do. I am sure the people of Murray feel very informed.
Mark Coulton representing the people of Parkes in NSW, has apparently been inundated with calls from constituents who just want to know about the economy, and in particularly, what could be threatening the NSW economy.
Scott Morrison is more than pleased to answer the people of Parkes, and if it looks like he has a prepared answer, that is just a coincidence, because clearly, this is questions without notice. The answer is Kristina Keneally and Sam Dastyari.
Back to Mark Dreyfus:
“My question is to the prime minister. Or as he says, the ruler of this country. I refer to the bid by the Chinese company, Land Bridge, to operate the port of Darwin. I also refer to the fact that subsequently they gave Andrew Robb a part-time position paying $880,000 a year. Is it action that would be caught by the prime minister’s proposed legislation on foreign interference?”
Malcolm Turnbull:
“The honorable member will do everything he can to distract attention from Senator Dastyari. Talk about anything. Anything at all, except the fact that his leader refuses to take the right decision, the decision that a person of strong character, a person determined to protect Australia would take, which is to say, to Senator Dastyari, ‘You are out of the Labor Party’.
“The Labor Party seeks to be the government. The leader of the opposition seeks to be the prime minister. The first job of every government is to protect the nation’s safety.
“National security is the first responsibility. So, how do you tolerate somebody in your party room, somebody on your Senate benches, somebody until very recently on your front bench, who has gone to the home of a foreign national, a home very familiar to the leader of the opposition, and told him to be wary that he may be being under surveillance from ASIO and then given him practical advice as to how to avoid it.
“Does the leader of the opposition think that the job of his party and his members is to help ASIO keep Australia safe?
“Or it simply to sell Australia out? Now, if they think they’re currying favour in Beijing by doing this, they are not. Senator Dastyari is a figure of contempt. Of contempt. Despised because the Chinese people are patriots. They stand up for their nation and they can’t understand why Australia has a leader of the opposition who won’t stand up for his.”
On to Andrew Hastie and the good voters of Canning are also very interested in national security.
In fact, Canning constituents want Christopher Pyne to tell them: “What are the risks for young players when they fail to exercise good judgment on matters of national security?”
Pyne manages to answer by combining both Kristina Keneally and Sam Dastyari, so double points for that one.
Updated
Cathy McGowan has the crossbench question today:
What would it take for this parliament to establish a national integrity commission? Over the past fortnight, the opposition and the government have been arguing about integrity, transparency and accountability. Will the prime minister commit to a national integrity commission to investigate and expose corruption, particularly in Australia, and misconduct, and would it happen in this term?
Malcolm Turnbull:
Integrity and transparency as we have been discussing are absolutely vital to ensure that we maintain and enhance trust in our democratic system. That’s exactly why we’ve announced the reforms in respect to foreign interference and donations today.
Australia is consistently ranked as one of the least corrupt countries in the world but we have, and I am sure I speak for all honourable members, zero tolerance to corruption.
But what we need to do, of course, is to live up to that and the test now is the with the Labor party in respect of Senator Dastyari.
So you don’t need, you don’t need an integrity commission to tell you what Senator Dastyari did was wrong. You don’t need an integrity commission and I’m not contesting the merits of what the honourable member is saying, but you don’t need an integrity commission to tell you every day the leader of the opposition leaving Senator Dastyari in the caucus is a day the Labor party demonstrates its unfitness to lead.
The establishment of a national integrity commission would not better guarantee protection against corruption necessarily. It could – a national integrity commission, depending on how it was designed, could add some benefits, but it is something that would need to be considered with great care.
Over the years, I have been very sceptical about some of these commissions, as we all know, some of them have done better than others. It has been a pretty patchy performance. We have a very robust multiagency approach. And what we have, of course, is the inspector general of intelligence and security that has the powers of a royal commission, the commonwealth ombudsman, the Australian commission for law enforcement and integrity, for particular importance, and the AFP’s only fraud and anti-corruption centre.
So we are very focused on ensuring that government, governance, whether it’s public service, agencies, politicians, are absolutely held to account and there is zero tolerance for corruption.
Now, there has recently been a Senate select committee on a national intelligence commission. I notice it didn’t recommend the establishment of one but nonetheless, its recommendations are being very carefully considered by the government.
We absolutely have the same objective, zero corruption, zero tolerance for corruption.
We have many agencies that are working on it and I will always look forward to working with and speaking with the honourable member to see how we can ensure that our zero tolerance for corruption is all better and better carried out into action.
Updated
Mark Dreyfus wants to know from the prime minister if the reason the Coalition didn’t move on banning foreign donations a year ago when Labor introduced its bill was because the former trade minister Andrew Robb’s praise of Huang Xiangmo: “He is a man of many dimensions,thoughtful, a thoughtful cerebral fellow, he thinks about life and how we can improve it. He is a visionary.”
Malcolm Turnbull:
There is a big difference between Andrew Robb and Senator Dastyari. Andrew Robb’s always put Australia first, he’s always put Australia first. Senator Dastyari sold Australia out ... But this is now not just about Senator Dastyari, it’s about him [Shorten]. It’s about his failure of leadership. This is a man who wants to be prime minister of Australia. He wants to lead a country that Senator Dastyari has betrayed. And what does he do about it? Well, Labor doesn’t like the ‘betray’ word. All right, how do the people on the Labor side describe someone who goes to a foreign national’s house and advises them how to avoid being surveilled by Asio? What do you think Asio does? Asio is there to protect us. Asio and the Australian people expect our elected representatives to defend Asio, to support them and assist them. Undermining the work of our security service is not the act of a loyal Australian, it is not the act of an Australian senator should undertake and every day Senator Dastyari remains in the Labor party is a day that reminds us how unfit they are and their leader is to rule this country.
Updated
Chris Crewther, using his time to ask questions his Duckley constituents really care about, wants to know why it is so important for Australian representatives to act in the interests of national security.
Julie Bishop has many examples of why it is so important and why it was so terrible that Sam Dastyari did what he did.
We move on when she runs out of time.
Tony Burke is back with a photo prop:
“Yesterday, the prime minister’s media team distributed a photograph of the leader of the opposition with Mr Huang. Can the prime minister explain why the photo was cropped so the prime minister himself was cut out of the photo?”
This exchange between Labor and the Coalition respective media units is quite amusing #auspol #qt@Shorten_Suite @Coalition_Media pic.twitter.com/TgCGumnEVg
— drink at the bar (@Afembar) December 4, 2017
Malcolm Turnbull moves on to Sam Dastyari:
Yesterday, there was a photograph produced which in a street scene in Sydney, of me and many other people, including Mr Huang, there they were. I think it was a Chinese new year function, thousands of people were there. Guess who else was there? The leader of the opposition. Well, fair enough. I make no criticism of him being there. Half of Sydney was there. But what I do criticise the leader of the opposition for is this – he has belittled and betrayed Australia by leaving Senator Dastyari in the Senate. Because I’ll tell you this, Senator Dastyari sold out Australia and, you know, the Labor party have made themselves the subject of contempt everywhere and nowhere more so than in China. Can you imagine that how the Chinese government would look at this alternative prime minister? They’d say, ‘This guy was prepared to allow one of his frontbench to switch on a matter of national security in return for what was it, $1600’? Well, I tell you what, Senator Dastyari’s integrity and the Labor party’s foreign policy was pretty cheap, it was pretty easy to acquire. And that is exactly what happened. Labor will be held in contempt. China respects strength. They respect honesty, they expect the Australian government to stand up for Australia’s interests, to be frank and honest and, when we differ, do so honestly, not to sell out Australia, not to sell out Australia for a few thousand dollars.
Updated
We move on to a Dixer on the new laws. “Is the prime minister aware of Australia’s sovereignty being compromised?”
Well Julian Leeser, the prime minister is very glad you asked, because he is aware of an example.
Cue Sam Dastyari answer.
Updated
Question time begins
Bill Shorten to Malcolm Turnbull:
He wants to know if the government will join with Labor (and the Greens) and support the domestic violence leave policy put forward today.
The prime minister begins by talking about White Ribbon day and violence against women and how it starts with disrespect against women. He then moves on to the CFMEU. Because of course he does.
“I want to remind the honorable member, the leader of the opposition, that he recently made a very deliberate decision to visit the CFMEU picket line at the Oakey Creek mine where the union has been running an outrageous campaign of vile abuse, threats of physical ...”
Labor explodes with interjections and Tony Burke makes a point of order on relevance.
That objection, that point of order from the member for Watson, shows how he fundamentally misunderstands the cause of domestic violence. It is disrespect for women. You have got members of the CFMEU threatening domestic violence and does he condemn it? No. His leader goes to show his solidarity. Let me say this to you, Mr Speaker. It’s about time the leader of the opposition stood up for something, he could stand up for respect for women, he could stand up for Australia, he could stand up for the security of our country.
Updated
Labor has given a very brief response to the government’s new law proposals
I wrote to Turnbull six months ago urging an update to our laws on foreign interference. I don’t know why it’s taken him so long, but I’m pleased he’s finally doing something. pic.twitter.com/PDsIfwWdyp
— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) December 5, 2017
In the Coalition party room Tony Abbott and Kevin Andrews have given notice that they intend to move a “pious amendment” in the same-sex marriage debate – which is not a substantive change to the bill but would rather reaffirm the value of religious freedom while not denying it a second reading.
Such a manoeuvre does not block the bill but it would reset the debate back to the second reading stage, taking us back to the start of a debate that by this stage will have taken 20+ hours.
Malcolm Turnbull said he takes traditional marriage “very seriously” but warned “this second reading pious amendment must not be allowed to derail the bill, we focus on substantive amendments in the committee stage”.
The leader of the House, Christopher Pyne, said if the pious amendment were passed it would “negate” the bill. A few others spoke against the ploy, including, as my colleague Katharine Murphy has reported, Trent Zimmerman.
The overwhelming sense in the Coalition party room was to get on with it, and the degree of sympathy for the amendment was at most negligible.
Updated
We are coming up to question time. Get those bingo cards ready. Obviously Sam Dastyari, Bennelong and foreign donations are a given
Some Bowers magic from the press conference a little earlier
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Here is how the government is describing its new legislation:
The Turnbull government has finalised historic legislative reforms targeting foreign interference and espionage. This comprehensive package will reshape the way our national security agencies investigate and disrupt these activities.
The foreign influence and interference package will be complemented by another bill on electoral reform to ban foreign political donations.
These reforms will protect the Australian way of life. They will strengthen our democracy and will ensure that decisions are made based on Australia’s national interest, not anyone else’s.
We must ensure that our politics and our parliament are strong enough to withstand attempts by foreign powers to interfere or influence.
The threat of political interference by foreign intelligence services is a problem of the highest order and is getting worse.
Foreign intelligence services are engaged in covert influence and interference on an unprecedented scale. This activity is being directed against a range of Australian interests, from our political systems to our commercial interests, to expatriate communities who have made Australia their home. There are currently no criminal offences targeting this type of interference.
Similarly, our existing espionage offences are narrow and difficult to prosecute. They do not cover the necessary types of harmful conduct, or the full range of information that requires protection. Our existing espionage offences have not been successfully prosecuted in decades.
Following the attorney general’s comprehensive review, the government is completely updating our criminal laws in relation to espionage and covert interference by foreign governments and their agencies.
This means if you are covertly acting on behalf of, or cooperating with, a foreign power, against the national interest, you could soon be guilty of a serious offence. Likewise, if you are acting on behalf of a foreign entity to influence our political processes, you will soon have to declare that fact, or face serious penalties.
This legislation will be world-leading among our like-minded international partners, whose knowledge and experience have informed this comprehensive package.
The government will introduce the most comprehensive foreign donations ban ever considered by an Australian government. It will ensure that only Australians and Australian entities can participate in our elections.
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Fiona Nash is speaking on Sky and says there is “potential to come back” and she believes there is a pathway for that return.
The next in line replacement, Hollie Hughes, a Liberal, was ruled ineligible by the high court and the court will release its reasons for that tomorrow. Then it has to decide whether it is a countback, or a casual vacancy.
If it is a casual vacancy, Nash said she would absolutely be putting her hand up. So watch this space.
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GetUp will be banned from accepting foreign donations under the law.
Mathias Cormann:
GetUp is a political campaigning organisation. In the year leading up to the 2016 election, they spent more than $10m on political expenditure. So, in fact, I’m not aware of an organisation, third-party organisation or political campaigning organisation, other than a political party, that spent more than GetUp on political expenditure.
Now, to ensure that there is no inappropriate foreign interference in our democratic system, we are banning all foreign donations, as I’ve said. Not just for political parties, but also for candidates, senate groups, and for political campaigning organisations.
Political campaigners will be defined in the Electoral Act. Based on GetUp’s past modus operandi they will be captured by that definition, which I thought is self-evident.
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The laws will not apply retrospectively
But what about someone like Andrew Robb who helped put together a free-trade agreement and then took a $880,000 consulting job with a Chinese billionaire just days after the election?
“Somebody in Mr Robb’s position would be required to register under the transparency scheme,” Brandis said. “A person who has been a cabinet minister within the previous three years must register if he acts on behalf of a foreign government, a foreign public enterprise, a foreign business or a foreign political organisation.
“As well as that, there is an obligation to register under the transparency scheme for other former members of parliament or senior commonwealth officials acting on behalf of those same foreign principals or entities if they use their skills, knowledge, experience or contacts gleaned from their time as a member of parliament or a senior commonwealth official.”
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Malcolm Turnbull talks about Sam Dastyari:
Bill Shorten is keeping Dastyari there when he knows that Dastyari sold out Australia’s national interest in return for having his debts paid, in return for a personal benefit, and then, of course, went on to give counter-surveillance advice to a Chinese national who he suspected may have been watched by Asio.
How a man that seeks to be prime minister of Australia and leader of this nation could so shamefully abandon our national interest by leaving Dastyari in his team is extraordinary. This is an indictment on Bill Shorten.
Which brings George Brandis to the new laws:
As the prime minister has instanced the case of Senator Sam Dastyari, let me point out to you the elements of the new offence of intentional foreign interference. It’s creating a criminal offence in circumstances in which a person engages in conduct on behalf of a foreign principal that will influence a political or governmental process, which I should ... say would include the policies of both the government party or the opposition party, and is either covert or involves deception, or involves the person causing serious harm to the Australian national interest. Now, you know the allegations that have been made against Senator Dastyari.
In my view, the conduct alleged against him does not reach the threshold of the existing laws of treason and espionage, but that is why we are introducing – because of the gap ... a new offence of unlawful foreign interference.
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George Brandis adds a little more on what these laws will mean:
The offence of treason – the language has been brought up to date so it aligns with contemporary international humanitarian law.
The offence of espionage is being broadened so there will be a broader category of conduct caught within the offence of espionage. For example, the existing offence of espionage only captures passing on information in defined circumstances.
The definition of “espionage” will be broadened to include possessing or receiving information, rather than merely communicating information.
There will be a new offence that will criminalise, for the first time, soliciting or procuring a person to engage in espionage, and there will be a new preparation and planning offence.
So, the core concept of espionage will not change, but the breadth of the behaviours defined will change. More importantly, there is a new offence introduced by the bill and that is the offence of unlawful foreign interference. That offence is designed to capture conduct ... harmful to the Australian national interest, which would not currently be captured by the offences of treason or espionage.
... It will be a crime to by covert deceptive or undisclosed conduct, engage in behaviours for the purposes of a foreign actor, which harm Australia’s security to influence or exercise the performance of any democratic or political right in Australia or influence a commonwealth state or territory decision-making process.
If you act covertly on behalf of a foreign actor, in a way that harms Australia’s national security, to influence the political process, or a government decision, that conduct will be criminalised.
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New foreign interference laws to be introduced
Malcolm Turnbull has given some detail about the suite of foreign interference laws the government plans on introducing:
The reforms will include a new foreign influence transparency scheme. The principle is straightforward – if a person or entity engages with the Australian political landscape on behalf of a foreign state or a principal, then they should register.
Both elements are required. The ties to the foreign player and the advocacy.
This will give the Australian public and decision-makers proper visibility when foreign states or individuals may be seeking to influence our political processes and public debates.
Being registered, I should say should not be seen as any kind of a taint. And certainly not a crime.
If you fail to disclose your ties, then you will be liable for a criminal offence. This is all about transparency.
As George will describe in a moment, of course it has been derived from and modelled on legislation in other countries. It is an improved version, in fact, of the foreign agent registration arrangements in the United States.
We will also introduce a set of foreign interference offences into the criminal code to ensure our agencies have the tools they need to do the job.
These offences capture covert conduct, that is intended to serve the intelligence objectives of a foreign actor.
They will include for the first time offences for acts of foreign interference ... Given the extreme threat these activities pose to our national security, the offences carry very severe penalties.
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Labor has made a decision on whether or not it will support the extension of the cashless welfare card.
From Jenny Macklin and Linda Burney:
Federal Labor will support the continuation of the existing cashless debit card trial sites in Ceduna and the East Kimberley.
However Labor will not support the rollout of the cashless debit card to the two new proposed sites of Bundaberg and the Goldfields due to insufficient consultation with these communities, and the widespread criticism of the evaluation and the effectiveness of the card.
After conducting our own consultations with people in Bundaberg and the Goldfields and hearing evidence from the Senate inquiry, it has become clear that Labor cannot support social services legislation amendment (cashless debit card) bill 2017 in its current form.
Labor believes that there is insufficient credible evidence at this point to support the establishment of further trials of the cashless debit card.
... Labor will move amendments to the bill to extend the end date for the trials in Ceduna and the East Kimberley to 30 June 2019 so that a proper evaluation can take place over a longer trial period.
We have always said that we are supportive of community-driven initiatives designed to tackle chronic alcohol abuse. But they must be genuinely community driven and not be part of a top-down approach.
Labor understands that entrenched disadvantage cannot, and will not, be solved by income management alone. That’s why we have always advocated for the government to provide additional wraparound supports to participating communities.
We are calling on the Senate to support our amendment that funding for these vital wraparound service be guaranteed in the legislation.
In future, Labor will only consider the introduction of any new trial sites if the government can show that the community have agreed through a formal consultation process with the community, as well as an agreed definition of consent, and have established an evidence base through a robust and credible evaluation.
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A little more on Andrew Wallace learning about his daughter’s girlfriend.
Wallace said his first reaction was:
“Homosexuality went against what I had been taught to believe for many years. How could this be happening to our family?”
But in time, Wallace changed his mind. He now says that the teachings of church “must not be allowed to override our civil laws”.
He also promised to his electors in Fisher that he would respect the outcome of the postal survey.
In Fisher, same-sex marriage got 62.8% support.
Wallace said he backs amendments for religious protections, including “the right to practice one’s religion” and freedom of expression “ought not to be trampled by the majority”.
Those foreign interference laws Malcolm Turnbull and George Brandis will be discussing in just a few moments are squarely aimed at Sam Dastyari.
I’m not sure how you can make something like that retrospective – as Bill Shorten has pointed out multiple times, what law did he break?
Here is what Anthony Albanese had to say on the matter just a few moments ago:
.@AlboMP: @samdastyari is a young man who has made mistakes and paid the price. People should move on. MORE: https://t.co/QbTQIEerCc pic.twitter.com/SeJEjSJClZ
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) December 5, 2017
Liberal MP Andrew Wallace is delivering his speech on marriage equality. He starts with a prayer “Lord give me the strength to accept things I can not change” and talks about his shock at learning his daughter was same-sex attracted.
Final party room of the year
Government folks tell me the final Coalition party room of the year was largely preoccupied with clearing legislation.
I gather there was a brief conversation about same sex marriage. Tony Abbott flagged moving amendments, the Sydney Liberal MP Trent Zimmerman told him the amendments would have the effect of killing same sex marriage.
There was a request for an explanation of the technical effects of amendments, and the prime minister reiterated his support for same sex marriage.
Perhaps no-one in the building has the energy to go out of the year with a bang? Perhaps everyone is just trudging to the finish?
Debate has resumed in the House
Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and attorney-general George Brandis have called a press conference for 12.30.
Expect to hear about those foreign interference and foreign donation laws.
An interesting tidbit from Tom McIlroy here
As of October, 30 staff members for MPs and the government are paid a salary above the usual range, including personal staff, advisors and chiefs of staff. The total additional salary cost per annum is $839,973 #estimates
— Tom McIlroy (@TomMcIlroy) December 5, 2017
Bill Shorten told the Labor caucus:
I’m proud that we’re finishing the year the way we started it: united, determined, setting the policy agenda and standing up for the people who count on us. You can see the other mob down the hallway finishing the way they started: undermining each other, fighting amongst themselves, losing votes in the House of Representatives and fixating on personalities rather than the people of Australia.
There were a few questions about refugees, including one on what more can be done for people on Manus Island. Shadow immigration minister, Shayne Neumann, said the government should consider New Zealand’s offer and indicated that the Trump migration ban may affect the people on Manus but we don’t know yet.
Shorten also wrote to Malcolm Turnbull to ask for speeches on indulgence to update the House of Representatives on the progress of the Commonwealth redress scheme for victims of child sexual abuse, but the suggestion was refused.
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Marriage equality speakers list
There are, at last check, 117 speakers on the marriage equality legislation. Not counting the ones we heard yesterday, that means we have 97 to go.
The breakdown goes something like this
- Labor - 61/69 (55 to go)
- Coalition - 52/74 (42 to go)
- Crossbench - 4/5 (Katter is not on the list)
There will be some speeches from once the opening business is completed sometime after noon until 1.30, before resuming again from 4.15pm to midnight. Speeches will go for 10 minutes each.
That means there will still be about six hours of speeches left for Wednesday, which means the earliest the second reading vote could occur would be 6.30pm tomorrow.
There is the possibility Wednesday’s sitting will be extended as well. Which, all going to plan, and the amendment debate not taking too long (assuming it is agreed to deal with amendments as part of the Ruddock review) we could see this passed on Thursday.
The Greens are concerned about how information on Sam Dastyari’s conversation with Huang Xiangmo got into the public domain and whether intelligence agencies are being politicised.
The Greens will write to attorney general, George Brandis, for an explanation and if he can’t or won’t explain, will he investigate? If he won’t, then the Greens reserve the right to ask for an explanation in the Senate.
The Greens have agreed a position on citizenship referrals - they support bona fide referrals to the high court where there is a serious question to consider, whoever those referrals come from. They agree that Katy Gallagher’s case is one that there is a sufficient question about.
But, at the same time, they are not prepared to be party to partisan warfare, such as the government getting to refer who they want with no ability for Labor to send government members off.
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So things are going well at the Milo event.
A One Nation member stands up ask a question. He complains about Australia's preferential voting system. pic.twitter.com/8v8IDy7HAb
— Gareth Hutchens (@grhutchens) December 5, 2017
That couldn’t have anything to do with One Nation, which Pauline Hanson’s advisor James Ashby said would win at least 10 seats at the beginning of the Queensland election night, only in line for one, maybe two seats once the votes were counted and the preferences passed on. Although I’m sure this might have helped ease the electoral disappointment
And there we go
At midday it’s expected a motion will be moved by Pyne and supported by Labor to extend sitting hours & restrict same-sex speeches to 10mins
— Alice Workman (@workmanalice) December 5, 2017
Back on marriage equality and it looks like Labor MPs will be limiting their speeches to 10 minutes, even if the Coalition doesn’t.
Amendments are looking less likely, with those who want those “religious freedoms” leaning towards waiting until the Ruddock review is completed – which would mean this bill could go through separately.
A vote is still not expected until Thursday.
I can not help but hear Benny Hill music in my head as I read this
At the conclusion of proceedings, Sam Dastyari was chased by cameras in a not very dignified lap of the members dining room. He declined to answer questions @AmyRemeikis #auspol
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) December 5, 2017
Derryn Hinch is holding a competing event
Derryn Hinch is having a book launch at the same time as the Milo event. He didn't support the Greens motion attempting to prevent the Milo event, but says he would have done had he known about the scheduling clash @AmyRemeikis #jokes
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) December 5, 2017
It's a modest crowd, but Sam Dastyari is here @AmyRemeikis #auspol
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) December 5, 2017
It seems not even the Coalition party room wants to talk about George Christensen anymore.
His threat to leave, which he “authorised” Andrew Bolt and Peta Credlin to broadcast, to put pressure on Malcolm Turnbull wasn’t spoken about during the joint-party room meeting we are told.
Christensen admitted he was the unnamed MP in question, who had threatened to leave if Malcolm Turnbull didn’t step down, but said the decision to hold a banking royal commission “changed everything”.
Greens senator Nick McKim will ask the government in Senate question time whether they plan to close the Nauru detention facility in February and cut off utilities as they did on Manus Island.
McKim has information from a confidential source that this will occur but wants confirmation (or for the government to refuse to deny it).
Milo Yiannopoulos who strikes me as a really ineffectual Iago-like character has begun his rant at a parliament house function.
He came at the invitation of David Leyonhjelm.
Sitting in the front row is:
- George Christensen
- Fraser Anning
- Malcolm Roberts (wearing a visitor pass, I hope)
- Pauline Hanson
- Brian Burston
- James Ashby
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The House MPs citizenship disclosures are due today, which has attention turning to how any members will be referred.
Labor seems to be looking for a group solution on how to deal with any referrals. The Greens will support bona fide referrals, which would include, to their mind, Katy Gallagher, but want to wait and see what the House disclosures throw up.
The government, which had threatened to break convention and use its numbers (plus a crossbencher) to force referrals, also seems to be holding fire, at least at this stage.
Once the House disclosures are up though, all of that could change.
It doesn’t look like the speaking time for those wanting to have their say on the marriage equality legislation will be cut down from 10 to 15 minutes, which means those 80 or so MPs on the list are going to be taking us to at least Thursday with this. And that is not including the amendment debates.
I think we can put Liberal Senator Jane Hume down as a “no” for the Milo event.
I can’t understand what all the fuss is about with Milo. I mean with someone who is an attention seeker, you just ignore them. You turn the volume down. Quite frankly, I don’t know why this is a headline in Canberra today. You know, young man swaggers into Canberra, attention seeking, saying outrageous things, and appeasing the far right and getting some media coverage. Sounds like the Coalition party room.
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The new parliament security fence is continuing to bring joy and cheer to all who come across it.
That bloody fence. More $$$ needed. Parliament House security fence work has interfered with electronic bollard triggers. Three ComCars damaged so far by misfires. One gear box wrecked.
— Derryn Hinch (@HumanHeadline) December 4, 2017
It’s all a little quiet round here at the moment, with party room meetings and caucus going on.
The Senate will sit at 12.30 - you can follow the day’s events here
The House will meet around the same time. They don’t put the notice paper up until about an hour before parliament starts, but you’ll find it here
Just a reminder the House is expected to sit until midnight, as the marriage equality debate rolls on
The Greens Adam Bandt has welcomed Labor’s paid domestic violence leave announcement, but wants Labor to go further and work with them to legislate it.
“I welcome Labor’s announcement to match Greens policy, but there’s no need to wait until the next election,” Bandt said in a statement.
“10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave for all workers is long overdue and we can legislate it in this Parliament.
“With the government regularly changing policies under public pressure and losing votes in the House, there’s every chance we could pass this law the next time Parliament sits.
“If Labor backs the Greens’ bill and helps us legislate this overdue reform, we will help save lives.”
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Bill Shorten also addressed this story from The Australian’s Primrose Riordan in his doorstop (sort of)
Exclusive: Beijing’s veiled threat to Shorten https://t.co/9xl6oubOvq #auspol
— Primrose Riordan (@primroseriordan) December 4, 2017
“I think it is a matter of record that Labor didn’t believe it was appropriate to support the extradition treaty with China and we led the opposition to that in the parliament, and subsequently the government withdrew the bill. In terms any discussion with the Chinese that have been reported in the media, I am just not going to comment any further about those matters.”
The government was forced to pull its superannuation bills from the Senate agenda yesterday, after making them priority legislation last week.
After spending most of the debate filibustering on the legislation, George Brandis was forced to stop the debate, after the government lost the support of the Nick Xenophon Team.
Financial services minister Kelly O’Dwyer told AM this morning the bills are “certainly not dead”, despite the setback.
The government remains absolutely committed to making sure that members know exactly how their superannuation money is being spent,” she said.
The crossbench was subject to a really ferocious campaign that wanted to hide exactly how these payments are being made and, under sustained pressure, we decided that it would make more sense for the Government to debate these issues early in the new year.
But unfortunately, I mean we could have dealt with it this year if Labor and the Greens had put aside their own vested interests and instead put the everyday Australian front and centre and said, yep, you have a right to know how your money is being spent. You have a right to have your money protected. It shouldn’t be used as part of a slush fund, whether it’s for a union or an employer group or anyone else. It is your money, it should be protected, and that was all that the government was doing with its changes.
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Last night in the same-sex marriage bill debate immigration minister, Peter Dutton, all but conceded that conservative amendments to the cross-party bill don’t have the numbers.
Dutton said:
I don’t think there will be success around the level of protections in place in this bill.
He added that it was “very hard to see” how proposed “protections” for religious freedom would pass the house, expressing hope amendments would succeed but adding “the arithmetic in my opinion dictates otherwise.
Labor, the Greens, Adam Bandt, Andrew Wilkie, Rebekha Sharkie and Warren Entsch provide 73 votes against amendments.
Nobody has gone on record saying they will provide the last (74th) vote to guarantee the amendments will fail, but Trent Zimmerman and Trevor Evans gave strong hints in lower house debate yesterday they will vote them down.
Zimmerman said:
This bill will deliver the marriage equality the Australian public voted for ... Not one word or one clause will change existing rights of religious freedoms.
Fairfax Media reports that Cathy McGowan and Kelly O’Dwyerare unlikely to support the amendments.
Also on marriage this morning, a new study has found that LGBTIQ Australians reported that they experienced more than double the number of verbal and physical assaults during the three-month marriage law postal survey.
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Katy Gallagher’s situation is different to Barnaby Joyce and Fiona Nash, Bill Shorten said this morning, because she took reasonable steps to renounce her citizenship.
Elected to the Senate in 2015, Gallagher didn’t send her renouncement documents to the UK authorities until April 2016. She received confirmation in August 2016. The 2016 election acted as a reset, in terms of section 44, but government ministers are arguing the reasonable steps argument in this case, is weakened, because Gallagher was already in parliament when she took those steps.
Shorten disagrees:
Mr Joyce and Senator Nash [have no] evidence ...they didn’t even try and argue that they taken any steps whatsoever, where Senator Gallagher certainly can. So the difference is night and day.
But let me make this very clear, we are prepared once all the disclosures are in, not just the Senate, but the House of Reps, we will sit down with the government and the crossbench, and hopefully in a bipartisan way, work our way forward once the disclosures are in.
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Oh, and in case you missed it, this happened overnight.
BOLT: Prime Minister, you can try to get my bosses to shut me up, but the voters will still know you are destroying the Liberal Party. Live now on @SkyNewsAust pic.twitter.com/OvxM411BZN
— The Bolt Report (@theboltreport) December 4, 2017
Casting your mind back to yesterday (which feels like it was years ago, I know) you may remember the government lost a vote in the House of Representatives.
That was over the Greens motion supporting the Senate resolution to accept New Zealand’s offer to take some Manus Island detainees.
That’s because Warren Entsch (who was on Sky) and Steve Ciobo (who was “detained”) missed the division and with the government two down in the House (John Alexander is facing a 16 December byelection and Barnaby Joyce is not expected to return until at least Thursday) every single MP counts.
Christopher Pyne called for the vote again and the government won it with the support of Bob Katter, after the other four crossbenchers sided with the opposition.
But Brendan O’Connor said the government should be considering New Zealand’s offer, and arguments it would re-start the people smuggling business were flawed.
The same argument could be made about sending people to America. It’s a first world country. If people think that there’s a pull factor in New Zealand because it’s a first world country, so too it would be true that having the deal between the United States and Australia could arguably be a comparable situation.
But you cannot have hundreds of people languishing for five years. That was never the original intention of setting up offshore processing. Processing is supposed to take place, and I think it is now overdue and the government, I think, is considering, quite frankly, is considering this privately.
I know the minister for immigration is indicating a hard line. I think there are those in the government who understand that something has to be done and I don’t want to score points on this, but I just want the government to seriously consider the offer.
I think it’s one made in good faith and I think given the circumstances and the real challenges now confronting those detainees, that the best thing for the government to do is to embrace that offer.
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When it comes to citizenship referrals, Labor is yet to make a decision on how it will deal with any potential cases.
Speaking to ABC this morning, Brendan O’Connor said when it came to Katy Gallagher, Labor believed she had taken “all reasonable steps”.
Now, as I’ve said, we are still examining all of the details of the Senate disclosures that were only out yesterday. In some cases, people have provided no documents at all. In the case of senator Gallagher, she actually has indicated she’s taken reasonable steps. And of course, there’s 24 hours to proceed, to look at the House of Representatives members. I believe there should be an effort by the parliament to work together to refer people if there are questions about ineligibility, but shouldn’t be just the focus on one.”
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Good morning
Welcome to day two of the final scheduled sitting week.
We start the day much like we ended the day before. Citizenship is still on the agenda, with declarations from the House MPs due today – although we won’t see them until tomorrow. Labor is facing pressure to refer senator Katy Gallagher to the high court, after her declaration revealed she had not received confirmation from the UK authorities of her citizenship renouncement until a month after the 2016 election. Gallagher had sent in her paperwork in April, but complicating the matter is that she was elected to the Senate in 2015. The government has threatened to refer opposition members itself in a massive break from convention. Stay tuned.
Thanks to the invitation from senator David Leyonhjelm, the alt-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos is in parliament today. Sigh.
Our political leaders have started the day at a White Ribbon breakfast, while Labor has pledged to introduce 10 days of paid domestic violence leave if elected.
The Guardian Essential survey came in last night and found that a leadership change within the Liberal party wouldn’t change how people planned to vote in the next election.
Among Coalition voters, 29% said they would be more inclined to vote for the government with another leader, 16% said less likely, and 46% said it would make no difference.
On the two-party preferred measure, Labor led the government 55 to 45 per cent.
But marriage equality is still the big issue of the day, with the House deciding late last night to sit until midnight in a bid to get through as many speeches as possible. More than 100 MPs want to speak on the bill, and that is before we even get to any potential amendments. Malcolm Turnbull has vowed to legislate marriage equality by Christmas, so the clock is ticking.
As always, Mike Bowers will be working his magic– you can follow along with him at @mpbowers and @mikepbowers. You can reach me at @amyremeikis or in the comments.
It is going to be a long day, so I hope you have had your breakfast. Let’s get started.
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