Powerful speeches, conservative maneuvering round out last sitting day
That’s where we’ll leave it for the day, folks. Thanks for sticking with me while I’ve filled in for Amy Remeikis this week.
I can barely remember the start of the week. A day’s a long time, as they say. At various points this week, federal politics has been unhinged, momentous, dramatic and profound. But as the week ends, the mood following the same-sex marriage survey is largely positive.
What’s happened today?
- Liberal Dean Smith, Labor’s Penny Wong and the Greens’ Janet Rice all delivered poweful speeches on same-sex marriage, as debate on the Smith bill began in the Senate.
- Conservatives continued to argue for stronger protections for religion and parental choice, to allow for discrimination against same-sex weddings. George Brandis has proposed protections for civil celebrants, who may not want to marry a same-sex couple.
- The citizenship saga rolls on. The Greens have been forced to seek legal advice on its new senator, Andrew Bartlett, following the high court’s decision on the Liberal Hollie Hughes. Hughes was ruled ineligible because she held an office of profit under the crown. The decision could have ramifications for others within government, although the court is yet to publish its reasons.
- Cory Bernardi used a series of controversial motions on abortion and GetUp to split the government on the floor of the Senate. It caused mayhem in the upper house, with a number of conservative government senators crossing the floor to vote with Bernardi.
- Michaelia Cash continues to be a target for Labor. They’ve been attacking her over the tip-off given to media ahead of the police raid on a union office. Cash will now need to face a fresh hearing on the matter on 1 December.
- Dutton rubbished a proposal by New Zealand to give $3m to provide essential services to refugees on Manus Island and Nauru. He said the offer was a waste of money.
That’s all folks. The Senate doesn’t sit next week. We’ll be back from the week of November 27, when both houses will sit and the debate over same-sex marriage will continue.
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We’ve wrapped up on the Senate’s scheduled list of speakers on same-sex marriage for the evening.
Before he finished, Matt Canavan flagged the need for strong protections on religion and parental choice.
It is the case that all the polls show that the majority of Australians do want to see strong protections for religion and human rights, and also for parental choice as well.
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Mike Bowers ducked down to the Senate to catch Matt Canavan’s contribution to the same-sex marriage debate. His colleague, Dean Smith, who spoke so powerfully this morning, watches on in the background.
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One Nation senators and a no Nation senator @knausc @murpharoo @GuardianAus #politicslive pic.twitter.com/XCmINnsAP0
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) November 16, 2017
Resources minister Matt Canavan is in the Senate, talking about the same-sex marriage bill. This is interesting. He’s one of the key conservative voices expressing concerns about freedom of religion and freedom of parental choice.
Canavan has so far said only that he “hopes” he can support a same-sex marriage bill and reflect the will of Queensland, his home state, which overwhelmingly voted yes.
He’s now re-agitating the no arguments. There’s a reason most cultures have settled on relationships involving a man and a woman, he says.
There is something fundamentally unique and distinct about a male and female relationship.
It does not make it better or superior, or in any way above a same-sex relationship. But it is fundamentally different.
The best environment for a child is to be with there biological mother and father. Humans have a fundamental instinct to know and love their biological mother and father, he says.
I think it’s something fundamental about what it is to be human ... that is not saying to any extent that a different form of parenting is inferior or incorrect.
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There’s a fair bit of excitement in the chamber about the fact that we’re, finally, getting on with same-sex marriage.
So much so, in fact, that Labor senator Glenn Sterle got things slightly mixed up during his contribution.
Now, as a homosexual man ... Oh. Sorry. As a heterosexual man.
Slaps head.
That’s actually, I didn’t mean to do that. Well, it wouldn’t worry me anyway. As a heterosexual man ... I’m so excited I got my words mixed up.
But Sterle’s point is a good one. He says he’ll never understand the discrimination experienced by his colleagues, like Penny Wong. But he’s thankful now, finally, that the country has got its act together.
Last time the parliament debated marriage equality, he went to the pub. He’d had a gutful of all talk and no action. He shares the anecdote at the start of his speech.
Normally I don’t refer to notes, normally I just say what comes into my head or what I’ve picked up in my adventures to get to here. But today I want to dignify my contribution with a well thought-out and partly written notes that I want to refer to.
So for those who thought they might have copped the old mic drop from the last time we got up and spoke about same-sex marriage in this country and marriage equality, where I came in to make a 20 minute contribution. I think I got to 48 seconds and thought I’ve had a gutful of even talking about this because this has been 10 years. And I think I made a comment like, ‘I’ll be at the Royal Hotel in Queanbeyan, call me when you get your act together’.
Well thank goodness the country has got its act together, finally. And what a magnificent outcome.
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Peter Dutton has described New Zealand’s offer of $3m to help refugees on Manus Island and Nauru as a “waste of money”. The New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, offered the money to help provide essential services to the refugees still on Manus and Nauru.
Dutton was unequivocal in his condemnation of the offer. He doesn’t want hope being offered out to anyone, apparently.
It’s a waste of money, in my judgment. Give that money to another environment, somewhere where ... Indonesia, for example. We’re the biggest donor into Indonesia for people who are displaced. It’s an issue for New Zealand where they spend their money, but from my perspective, we want to get people off Manus. I want to get the regional processing centre closed. I don’t want hope being offered out to anyone that they’re going to come to Australia. I don’t want them rejecting the US position on the promise that maybe one day they’ll go to New Zealand or somewhere else.
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Dutton worried about Safe Schools movement's 'next wave'
The immigration minister, Peter Dutton, has just expressed concern that the Safe Schools movement will use the marriage debate as “a launching pad for their next wave”. He’s echoing the concerns of fellow conservatives that same-sex marriage will threaten parental rights to choice.
“That is a genuine concern,” Dutton told Sky News.
He’s asked whether he wants to see stronger protections in the Dean Smith bill, or whether such protections can be introduced separately in the new year, after same-sex marriage is legalised.
Well, potentially, I just think it’s important to see what happens with some of the amendments within this bill. But I do think that there is a future debate now that people can’t say that this future bill will be related to, or somehow intends to stymie same-sex marriage. I think now that we’ve got this issue resolved, it will give us the ability to have a free discussion – I think in the new year – about whether or not there is support for a religious protections bill, and I think that’s important.
So Dutton seems to be hedging his position. He’s raised the prospect of introducing a “religious protections bill” in the new year, but has left the door open to supporting amendments to the Dean Smith bill. He doesn’t seem particularly interested in introducing specific protections for businesses (the mystical bakers and florists we keep hearing about) who don’t want to service same-sex weddings.
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As many have noted, the same-sex marriage survey result yesterday closely mirrored polling throughout the campaign. Rebecca Huntley, the director of research at Essential Media, said she felt an immense sense of professional satisfaction – as well as personal joy – upon seeing the poll result.
At the beginning of the postal survey process the Essential Report reviewed all the polling done on the issue of same-sex marriage; at that time 61% of those surveyed said they would support marriage equality. Other publicly available polling had similarly put the percentage of support hovering just above the 60% mark. There is a lot of rot spoken publicly and privately about the accuracy of polling, as if the errors in other countries around national voters for presidents and membership of the European Union are automatically relevant to what we do here in this country. The reality is, as chief pollster for Galaxy David Briggs has pointed out many times, Australian polls have a far better track record for accuracy when it comes to national election results. And now for national survey results too.
Huntley has written a piece for Guardian Australia on what the same-sex marriage survey says about polling and its reliability.
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All the fun from Senate question time today, courtesy of Mike Bowers.
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George Brandis, Penny Wong & Derryn Hinch pay tribute to @mearesy at the end of his last #qt as a Fairfax photographer pic.twitter.com/xwhywoy0bW
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) November 16, 2017
Both attorney-general George Brandis and Labor’s Penny Wong have just paid tribute to Fairfax photographer Andrew Meares, who is retiring today after more than 27 years on the job. Meares is a well-known and much-loved figure in the press gallery and across parliament. Meares, as the first photographer to lead the press gallery, lobbied the Senate to relax its restrictions on photography in the upper house.
Brandis describes the consequences of that reform:
All of a sudden a wonderful new world opened up to the parliamentary press gallery. After all of those years of taking photographs of those dreary and unattractive people in the House of Representatives, all of a sudden you had a whole new universe of much more attractive people to photograph here in the Senate.
So Mr Andrew Meares, or Mearesy as everyone knows you, we thank you for your service to Australian democracy because, may I say, the photographers sometimes capture the moment in a way the journalists never can.
Wong says Meares is among the “finest news photographers around”.
With an ability to find that moment that sums up the drama and the humour, the mood of what’s happening in this place. Your photos are sometimes uplifting, sometimes brutal, sometimes funny, but probably never unfair.
Meares, a Walkley winner, has covered conflict and disaster, politics and the Australian bush. He’s currently tweeting 27 frames from 27 years. They’re well worth a look.
Braidwood 2014 pic.twitter.com/WJP1TFCevi
— andrew meares (@mearesy) November 16, 2017
Cronulla 2005 pic.twitter.com/rh3g1gMPbb
— andrew meares (@mearesy) November 16, 2017
East Timor 2001 pic.twitter.com/UhPKmu0IRz
— andrew meares (@mearesy) November 15, 2017
Queanbeyan 2010 pic.twitter.com/p1pGb6wOou
— andrew meares (@mearesy) November 16, 2017
Hawke and Fraser pic.twitter.com/O6sg76Eo0f
— andrew meares (@mearesy) November 16, 2017
A few more pictures from the Bernardi-induced mayhem in the Senate this morning. Several conservatives within the Coalition were enticed to cross the floor on Bernardi’s motions on abortion and GetUp.
Cory causes notice of motion mayhem-coalition members cross floor-cross back again and then finally abstain @GuardianAus @knausc @murpharoo pic.twitter.com/VsfNiZXMew
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) November 16, 2017
The Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson has just raised concerns about the Australian navy’s involvement in exercises with Saudi Arabia, near the coast of Yemen.
Saudi Arabia is blockading Yemen, and the United Nations has warned the blockade will cause one of the world’s worst famines. Seven million people are on the brink of starvation.
Human Rights Watch and Oxfam have asked the Australian defence force for an explanation.
Whish-Wilson asked the defence minister, Marise Payne:
Why are we having a military exercise with Saudi Arabia, and have any Australian arms been used in this blockade?
Payne says the exercise is part of a combined maritime forces operation, designed to counter terrorism, protect international waters, and prevent piracy, among other things.
When participants in the combined maritime forces are active, they engage opportunistically, as it were, from time to time, in joint activities such as the one that the senator refers.
That is the basis upon which the engagement occurred between Australia and Saudi Arabia and their respective navies.
Payne is asked to condemn the blockade. She doesn’t, but details the work Australia has done to help in Yemen.
The senator is indeed correct when he refers to the United Nations’ concerns that have been raised about the situation in Yemen as a very significant humanitarian crisis.
Australia has made contributions to support in Yemen since the beginning of this year ... that assistance has helped to deliver food, healthcare, water and sanitation to the many people who are in need of urgent assistance.
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At a press conference in Adelaide the Labor leader, Bill Shorten, has weighed in on the same-sex marriage bill debate in parliament and the alleged hacking of Christopher Pyne’s Twitter account at 2am when it “liked” a porn video.
Asked about moves in the Coalition for greater protection of “conscientious objection”, Shorten says that Labor will “look at the religious beliefs of celebrants” to make sure that a marriage bill has “no unintended consequences for them”.
He says Labor will adopt a “commonsense” approach to amendments but the cross-party bill written by Dean Smith “pretty much gets us there” in terms of what is needed to legislate marriage equality.
On Pyne, Shorten said:
I feel for Christopher Pyne. But I think when any minister has their account hacked, but in particular when [it’s] the defence minister, this is serious. So I do think there should be some investigation and explanation. We want to make sure that important military and defence information can’t be hacked.
To be clear, the alleged hacking was of his Twitter account. Not the best platform for keeping national secrets at the best of times, I would’ve thought.
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One Nation’s Pauline Hanson is also asking about the Adani mine. This time the question is to Matt Canavan, the resources minister, who is asked whether he thinks the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, dumped support for a loan to get Greens preferences in the upcoming state election.
Labor says the question is out of order because Hanson is asking Canavan for an opinion on the state of mind of Palaszczuk. Labor’s Penny Wong says the question cannot possibly be ruled in order.
Eventually, the question gets through to Canavan. He says:
I thank senator Hanson for that very important question on a very important issue.
He says he wants Queensland Labor to be on side. He accuses the state government of leading Adani “down the garden path” through its prior support. Then it betrayed the Queensland people, Canavan says.
Hanson asks a supplementary. If One Nation gets balance of power in Queensland, would Canavan work with the government of Queensland to progress the project? Canavan says:
We can reasonably disagree about how this should happen, but I just want to see it happen.
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The Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, is quizzing George Brandis on Adani’s Carmichael mine. Brandis says the government will give every encouragement to the mine.
We will give every encouragement to the Adani mine because it is the right thing to open up the Galilee Basin ... and it’s the right thing to bring 10,000 new jobs to Queensland, and only the LNP will do it.
He says the coal in the basin is low-emission. India’s demand, if not met by Australia, will simply be sated by coal from other parts of the world.
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Labor senator Chris Ketter asks the attorney-general, George Brandis, what he thinks of One Nation’s policy of ending multiculturalism. Brandis says his views about One Nation’s and Pauline Hanson’s views are well known. Ketter goes on to remind Brandis of his visceral attack on Hanson after her burqa stunt in the Senate. Ketter asks:
Has the prime minister raised concerns about One Nation policy with Tim Nicholls [Queensland LNP leader] following his decision to preference One Nation in 49 seats?
Brandis denies that any preference deals exists.
Well, senator Ketter, that is just not true. That is just not true.
Updated
Senate question time begins
Question time is off and racing in the Senate. The attorney-general, George Brandis, fields a few questions about the Liberal Senate hopeful Hollie Hughes. You’ll remember that Hughes was to replace Fiona Nash, the deputy Nationals leader. But the high court ruled Hughes ineligible on Wednesday, a decision related to her time on the administrative appeals tribunal, which saw her fall foul of section 44 of the constitution.
Labor’s Jacinta Collins asks (given Brandis’s confidence about Hughes’ chances):
How many times now has the chief law officer got it wrong?
Brandis says he doesn’t comment on decisions of the high court. The court is also yet to publish its reasoning for the decision.
Collins asks:
What communication did the attorney-general or his office have with Ms Hughes about her constitutional eligibility to sit in the Senate?
Brandis responds:
Well, senator, I don’t comment on private conversations with colleagues.
Ms Hughes took legal advice from those retained by the NSW Liberal party; my advice is from those retained to act on behalf of the commonwealth of Australia, namely the solicitor-general.
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Labor senator Louise Pratt has held a press conference to remind the government that the postal survey added to stigma of LGBTI people and as a result caused a spike in access to mental health services.
She said it was “no small thing” for Australians to have found anti-LGBTI pamphlets in their mailbox, as her family had, or consoling a child while “no” campaign ads ran on TV.
Pratt said it was “a terrific idea” to spend the “big underspend” on the postal survey on LGBTI and mental health services.
On Wednesday the Australian statistician, David Kalisch, said the postal survey’s final cost was under $100m, many millions of dollars less than its $122m budget.
Pratt:
All along that $122m would have – from the outset – been better spent on health services here in Australia. That’s where that underspend should go.
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Earlier today the immigration minister, Peter Dutton, was on 2GB with Ray Hadley. He tells us he voted no in the same-sex marriage survey, but would vote yes in the parliamentary vote, given the result.
I’ve been very clear about that from the first time I advocated a postal plebiscite. I thought it was a nonsense for you to be able to put forward a democratic process and then not adhere to the outcome. So I think a lot of Australians will be in that same position.
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Australia’s front pages were splashed with rainbow and screaming with positivity after the same-sex marriage vote yesterday.
Some historic Australian front pages today! #MarriageEquality #FrontPagesToday pic.twitter.com/6i4BF2QkS2
— Paperboy (@frontpagestoday) November 15, 2017
As my colleague Amanda Meade has reported, the Daily Telegraph was perhaps the outlier. It chose a bland front page featuring the dejected character Al Bundy, from the 1980s sitcom Married With Children. Its headline read: “Now we can all the share the joy”.
Front page of The Daily Telegraph pic.twitter.com/BJjbI2r77h
— Christopher Dore (@wrongdorey) November 15, 2017
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Cory Bernardi causes mayhem in the senate with a notice of motion Sen. Ruston, Birmingham and Paterson abstain from voting with colleagues pic.twitter.com/Fz0MQ8AtmV
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) November 16, 2017
Please, do watch these powerful scenes in the Senate this morning. There was elation, reflection, and pride in the chamber, as parliament took one of the final steps needed to make same-sex marriage legal. This is Dean Smith, a Liberal moderate, whose bill for marriage equality is currently before the Senate.
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Michaelia Cash to face fresh hearing over AWU tip-off
Some more news from the Senate. The employment minister, Michaelia Cash, has been under attack all week over the tip-off provided by her office to journalists ahead of a police raid on the Australian Workers’ Union offices.
Now she’s set to face a new Senate hearing into the matter. Labor’s Murray Watt said the new hearing will take place on 1 December.
Michaelia Cash fails in bid to avoid new hearing into @AWUnion police raid and media tip off. Senate orders hearing for 1 December. @unionsaustralia
— Senator Murray Watt (@MurrayWatt) November 16, 2017
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Bernardi causes havoc in Senate
There’s been some trouble on the Senate floor. The Australian Conservatives leader, Cory Bernardi, is causing mayhem for the government.
It looks as though a number of conservative Coalition senators have crossed the floor to vote on motions. The motions are coming thick and fast from Bernardi. One on abortion, another on the White Ribbon domestic violence campaign, another on GetUp.
The first related to ending Medicare funding for some forms of abortions. It was voted down 36 to 10, with Labor and the government opposing the motion. But Eric Abetz, Zed Seselja, Matt Canavan, and Barry O’Sullivan all voted with Bernardi.
Senator @CoryBernardi is moving a motion regarding gender selection abortion in the @AuSenate
— Aust Conservatives (@AuConservatives) November 16, 2017
Motion asks how, if gender is a 'social construct,' can anyone justify aborting on gender grounds #auspol
The second motion asked the Senate to note that many senators are White Ribbon ambassadors, part of a campaign to end family violence. The motion, moved by Bernardi, also asked the Senate to note that White Ribbon “advocates for ‘nationally consistent access to safe and legal abortion, including late-term abortion in all states and territories’, and if senators have a concern about that stance, they ought to take it up with White Ribbon Australia”.
The motions provoked an angry response from some in the chamber. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young sought to speak, labelling the proponents of the motions “a bunch of misogynistic ...”, before being cut off.
Liberal senator Ian Macdonald calls her a “dill”, and he is warned by the new Senate president, Scott Ryan. Ryan describes both phrases as unparliamentary.
Macdonald then rebukes Ryan for the ruling.
There are some interesting dynamics at play here. Macdonald was in the running to replace Senate president Stephen Parry, who was forced out of parliament by the dual citizenship crisis but Ryan pipped him for the job.
Another early test for the new Senate president.
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One of the more interesting aspects of the vote yesterday was the way it divided Sydney. Of the 17 no-voting electorates, 12 were in western Sydney and nine of those are held by Labor MPs.
My colleague Michael McGowan has spoken to several campaigners and political operators to understand the trend.
Alex Greenwich, a NSW independent MP and prominent yes leader, attributed it to, at least in part, a campaign of “strategic misinformation” targeting areas with high migrant populations. A pamphlet published by the Sydney-based Australian Chinese for Families Association, for example, published a warning that “redefining marriage will leave our society bearing severe consequences”.
He didn’t think the vote could be taken as an overall indication of the views of ethnically diverse populations.
Our experience is that they value the fair go, and for us it’s quite clear that the members in those seats who do support same-sex marriage need to take their constituents on a further journey and talk about why it’s important. If they vote yes, they have to explain why it’s in line with their values and Australian values.
You can read the full piece here.
The government’s leader of the house, Christopher Pyne, has blamed a hacker for liking a gay pornographic video on his Twitter account overnight.
Pyne’s account liked the video about 2am Thursday. The like was detected by the “Auspolwatch” bot, which tracks political activity on social media.
Pyne later tweeted that he was asleep at 2am.
“Someone tried to hack my social media yesterday. Maybe they are making mischief over the plebiscite?” he tweeted.
He has now removed his like of the video.
I was hacked overnight! I was 😴 at 2am. Someone tried to hack my social media yesterday. Maybe they are making mischief over the plebiscite?
— Christopher Pyne (@cpyne) November 15, 2017
The leader of the Australian Conservatives, Cory Bernardi, wants parliament to investigate Pyne’s tweet. Bernardi released a statement on Thursday, saying the incident may pose a national security risk.
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How did the nation’s cartoonists capture the mood of the nation yesterday? Let’s have a look at several standouts, leading of course with our very own First Dog.
"Blathering upright tuna mornay @SenPaterson" | First Dog on the Moon https://t.co/xTZezcMt9h
— Ian Smith 🏳️🌈 (@iansmith_adl) November 16, 2017
David Pope from the Canberra Times.
.@davpope is a national treasure pic.twitter.com/cpB97rbttM
— Jen Rayner (@JR_Rayner) November 15, 2017
Cathy Wilcox from the Sydney Morning Herald.
Let it rain.
— The Cathy Wilcox (@cathywilcox1) November 15, 2017
My @smh cartoon (tomorrow’s cartoon today, because you’re worth it). pic.twitter.com/mO6YOxK3We
And finally, the Australian Financial Review’s David Rowe.
'It's Turnbull and... er... guests'. @roweafr's latest cartoon. For more: https://t.co/k6n0SdgCe7 #MarriageEquality #auspol #yeswins pic.twitter.com/A5P9kjDXn8
— Financial Review (@FinancialReview) November 15, 2017
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The Empire State Building lit up to show support for Australia’s marriage equality. pic.twitter.com/GhDGTpeiSy
— Ahron Young (@AhronYoung) November 15, 2017
Another Liberal senator, Linda Reynolds, from Western Australia, has spoken out against the need for amendments to Dean Smith’s bill.
“I also agree with senator Smith that Australians have not voted for equality before the law so that equality before the law in other areas can be deliberately or inadvertently stripped away,” she said.
Reynolds also gave some interesting perspective on yesterday’s poll result.
The participation rate (79.5%) was higher than that recorded in the recent British general election, the French presidential election. and the Irish referendums on same-sex marriage.
“This is a triumph,” Reynolds said.
The yes vote (61.6%) was vastly higher than any previous national plebiscite. It was also far bigger than any majority secured in a federal election, in two-party-preferred terms. The biggest majority was 56.9% in 1966, secured by Harold Holt’s Liberal/Country coalition. The second biggest was John Howard’s 1996 victory, where he secured 53.6%.
“What this means is that, with 62%, the yes case has secured the strongest possible mandate for an issue, and for something for us to action on their behalf, than any other vote or survey in this nation’s history,” Reynolds said.
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Pratt ended her speech to a standing ovation. She delivered a strong warning against amending the bill in a way that would introduce new forms of discrimination against same-sex couples.
Australians voted for equality, not for more discrimination. To legislate to give people a right to discriminate on the provision of goods and services would simply go too far.
Pratt says the spurious arguments from the no camp were hurtful to the LGBTIQ community. She said they had been subjected to “lies and misinformation about their families”.
While they did that, the result is a resounding rejection of those arguments. And the result is a victory for all in the LGTBI community. Those arguments hurt our community, they hurt young people, trans people, children and families, who weren’t really at the centre of the substantive debate about what a mutual commitment is between two people who want to marry each other. The results of the survey show they did not win the arguments about marriage, they did not win the arguments about schools, they did not win the arguments about children. Any forthcoming amendments along those grounds must be rejected.
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Greens seek legal advice on Andrew Bartlett's eligibility
The Greens are seeking fresh legal advice on the eligibility of Queensland Greens senator Andrew Bartlett after yesterday’s surprise high court ruling on Liberal member Hollie Hughes.
The Greens have just issued a statement:
In light of questions raised by the high court’s unexpected ruling on Hollie Hughes’ ineligibility to serve in the federal parliament, the Australian Greens are seeking fresh legal advice about the case of Greens senator Andrew Bartlett, who was employed at the Australian National University at the time of his election.
Previous legal advice received by the Australian Greens on the matter indicated with a strong degree of confidence that senator Bartlett does not hold an office of profit under the crown and it is noted that the high court certified his election earlier this month.
The high court ruled unanimously that Hughes was ineligible to replace the National party’s Fiona Nash in the Senate, with reasons to be published at a later date.
The ruling had to do with Hughes’ having been appointed by George Brandis to the administrative appeals tribunal in June after she missed out on a Senate seat at the 2016 election.
Section 44(iv) of the constitution disqualifies anyone who holds an office of profit under the crown from election.
The high court heard on Wednesday that Bartlett still had a cloud hanging over his eligibility, because he was working for a university while he was nominated for the Senate last year.
The high court is yet to consider whether university employment is considered as receiving profit from an office under the crown.
The Greens had previously said they believed Bartlett would be OK but the ruling on Hughes has thrown that up in the air.
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Labor senator Louise Pratt is now on her feet in the senate. She’s paying tribute to the yes campaigners, whose work was pivotal in achieving yesterday’s result.
Our love exists and your campaigning efforts mean that finally our nation’s laws will recognise this.
She pays tribute to her home state of Western Australia, where 63.7% voted yes, the second highest of any state, behind Victoria.
YES! pic.twitter.com/syaOGPB1v1
— Louise Pratt (@Louise_Pratt) November 14, 2017
You might remember Pratt’s powerful speech from 2012 on marriage equality. It is still well remembered and worth re-watching.
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Scenes from first reading of a bill to amend the marriage act in the senate this morning @knausc @murpharoo @GuardianAus #politicslive pic.twitter.com/VzygDaynoG
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) November 15, 2017
The education minister, Simon Birmingham, has just finished speaking in the Senate. Birmingham, a strong supporter of marriage equality, has just said he won’t support amendments that introduce new forms of inequality and discrimination.
Birmo: I reserve my position re amendments but "won't support any that extend inequality and discrimination", when Australian people have spoken so comprehensively against discrimination #auspol #marriageequality
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) November 15, 2017
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Photographer Mike Bowers was in the Senate to capture what was a moving moment: the speech of senator Dean Smith.
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A view outside the chamber
All eyes this morning are on the Senate, with debate on the Dean Smith marriage equality bill now under way.
But earlier today I had a chat to the Labor lower house MP Chris Hayes, whose electorate of Fowler recorded a 64% no vote – reflective of religious observance and ethnic groups in that part of Sydney.
Hayes has some concerns about protection for religious freedom which he intends to take up separately from the resolution of the same-sex marriage debate. He says he doesn’t want to frustrate or delay a yes vote by projecting his concerns into the current proceedings.
He tells me he’s had persistent representation from constituents, with people concerned about the impact of a yes vote on faith-based schools, and faith-based institutions such as hospitals and aged care facilities.
Hayes said he voted no in the postal survey. He says he’s not surprised by a 64% no vote in his community. But he intends to vote yes when the legislation reaches the lower house. Hayes reasons there is no point asking Australians what they want through a national postal survey, and then ignoring the result. “I’ll be voting yes.”
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Turnbull also joked about the chief statistician, David Kalisch, and the time he took to deliver the result on Wednesday. It really wasn’t that long, but it felt like an eternity to most.
“Jonesy”, of WSFM 101.7, asks Turnbull:
What about the ABS guy? He really milked his moment yesterday, didn’t he?
Turnbull responds:
Didn’t you think it was great? Because he knew – let us be honest, Jonesy – he knew that anything he said after he gave the result, no one was going to listen to.
So he had to get in all of the messages about the great work the ABS is doing, the website, all of that stuff, before he gave the number.
My favourite things about yesterday and #MarriageEquality:
— Ian Whitney (@iancwhitney) November 15, 2017
1. The result, obviously.
2. David Kalisch using the opportunity to spruik upcoming stats releases.
3. The rawness of Penny Wong's reaction.
4. That photo of Wilson & Evans smirking/side-eyeing Bernardi in the Senate.
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Just moving the focus away from the Senate, momentarily. Malcolm Turnbull did the rounds on commercial radio this morning talking same-sex marriage. He was asked whether he can guarantee those opposed to same-sex marriage won’t stymie the progress towards marriage equality.
Yes I absolutely can. There are a number of people who strongly campaigned against same-sex marriage being legalised who said they will vote yes, respecting the will of the people. They’re others who have said they will abstain, I don’t know of any who will still vote no. There might be one or two.
But the overwhelming majority of parliament, both sides and crossbenchers, will support same-sex marriage being legalised. In accordance with the directions we have from the people for whom we work, the Australian public.
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Janet Rice warns “right-wing crusaders” against playing games with Dean Smith’s same-sex marriage bill.
We have had enough. The game is over. I say to the conservative members of this chamber and indeed in the House of Representatives, you demanded this plebiscite and Australia voted.
Respect that vote. Respect that result. Australia voted to remove discrimination, not entrench it. Australians voted for love.
She’s warned the Greens have already made concessions to accept Smith’s bill. It’s not the bill they would have proposed.
About to speak on the cross party marriage bill in the senate #YES #MarriageEquality #auspol
— Janet Rice (@janet_rice) November 15, 2017
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Janet Rice, a Greens senator, said the past two months had been tough for her and her partner.
She said their lives had been dissected in painful detail by the public. But she was now looking forward to “just getting on with it”.
We don’t need a yes vote to know that we are worthy of equality. Our community is one of the strongest that there is. We’re more resilient than you know. We stand here on the shoulders of our LGBTIQ elders, in power and in love. We have endured and now Australians have said yes, they agree with us. They have demonstrated that they think everybody should be treated equally under the law.
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Penny Wong managed to get through her contribution without the emotion we saw yesterday.
But she clearly stirred some emotions on the other side of the chamber. Simon Birmingham and Marise Payne listened closely, and were clearly moved by the Labor Senate leader’s remarks on race, and growing up as an outside in Australia.
After Wong wrapped the speech she was applauded by her own side and by visitors in the chamber, which include the lower house Labor MP Terri Butler.
I neglected to mention in my last post capturing the atmosphere in the chamber during Dean Smith’s contribution that this morning’s speeches are being watched by representatives of the Equality Campaign, who are on the floor of the Senate.
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She speaks of the difficulty of supporting the amendments to the Marriage Act in 2004, when the Howard government made same-sex marriage and adoption illegal. Labor supported that amendment.
It was a dark moment in the history of this parliament. For me, Labor’s support for the Howard government’s amendment meant I voted for discrimination against myself and the people whom I love. I had a choice at that time. I could go out in a blaze of publicity, take a public stand against my party and become an outsider in a pretty dramatic way. Well, I decided to fight this discrimination within the political system and I chose to stay.
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Wong is speaking of the discrimination she felt moving to Australia from Malaysia as an eight-year- old. She was the only Asian face at primary school, she says, and was excluded and made to feel different.
Neighbours rejected me for my difference for no reason other than the colour of my skin, the colour of my hair, the shape of my eyes. It was this experience growing up in a predominantly white Australia that taught me the impact of fear and of prejudice, and it is from this experience that I am driven to remove discrimination and embed equality.
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Penny Wong speaks to the same-sex marriage bill
Labor’s Penny Wong is on her feet. The yes vote was higher than any two-party preferred vote in the nation’s history. It is the most conclusive national vote in the nation’s history, she says.
Today is a proud day for Australia, a day of joy and a day of grace. A day for all Australians to be proud of themselves and our nation, a nation that has shown itself to be as generous and big-hearted as we had hoped.
For too long, she says, LGBTIQ Australians have been deprived of a fair go. Deprived of equality for no other reason than “who we are, and who we love”. The marriage laws, as they stand, send a message to the gay community.
It is a message that we are lesser. It is a message that we are less valued as citizens. It is a message that our relationships and our children matter less. And it is a message that because of who we love, our love is worthless.
Dean Smith: "Let me be clear: Amendments that seek to address other issues or which seek to deny gay and lesbian Australians with the full rights, responsibilities and privileges that they already have will be strenuously opposed" #auspol #yeswins
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) November 15, 2017
Smith became emotional while introducing his bill to the Senate. His speech brought senators to their feet in applause. It’s clearly a significant point in Australian political history. Smith says:
Yesterday we saw a glimpse of the country we all yearn for, a country that is fair-minded, generous and accepting. We saw a country that was willing to embrace its hopes rather than hold on to its fears. Many of us across this chamber have seen something of that great Australian story that compelled us into public life. For the liberals and conservatives who yearn for change, we see in this result the shining city on a hill with more freedom, more acceptance and more grace.
Long line of senators congratulating Dean Smith but middling turnout from Coalition: Brandis, Birmo, Payne, Linda Reynolds, Jane Hume, Bridget McKenzie, James Paterson, Duniam present. OTHERS?!? #auspol #marriageequality
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) November 15, 2017
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From my ringside seat as Dean Smith introduces his bill, the thing that’s most noticeable is the absence of conservatives in the chamber.
Sitting in the visitors’ seats are lower house MPs Tim Wilson, Trevor Evans and Trent Zimmerman. On the floor with Smith are moderates Simon Birmingham, Marise Payne, and George Brandis. James Paterson, the architect of the rival conservative bill, is in the chamber, but no Cormann, no Canavan, no Barry O’Sullivan.
Smith’s contribution, which traverses some emotional territory, is listened to in silence. When he concluded, the Greens gave him a standing ovation.
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Smith introduces marriage equality bill, delivers powerful speech
Dean Smith is delivering a powerful speech in the Senate, speaking to his bill to legalise same-sex marriage.
He says the result announced on Wednesday brings together young and old, conservative and progressive, Indigenous and white Australians.
It wasn’t just a vote of acceptance, it was that deep loving embrace of a big family.
Smith is reminding senators of the votes in their home states and territories. They were all resounding yes votes.
If ever there was a vote that took us back to being the state’s house, I think this is it.
Smith says the bill he has proposed brings together the “deepest and conservative liberal ideas”.
This is so vital it reflects the deepest and conservative liberal ideas. Liberal because it advances the sum of freedoms and conservative because it nurtures our families, affirms a vital institution and strengthens the social fabric which is the sum of all of our human relationships. Today I think of John Gorton, the only prime minister to come from the Senate, and who 44 years ago moved a motion calling for the decriminalisation of homosexuality. In him we saw a liberalism that was empathetic and a man who, even after achieving the highest office, was still willing to walk a mile in another man’s shoes.
Smith is paying tribute to Liberal MP Warren Entsch, who led the way within the Coalition on same-sex marriage. He describes Entsch as a wonderful mix of “gruffness and empathy” that made him “the most unexpected but compelling of warriors”. Smith says he and other yes campaigners in the Coalition are simply following the path left for them by Entsch.
When I look at this victory and the thousands who made it possible, I keep thinking of one man. The one who carried the torch well before there were any other LGBTI members of the Coalition. That man is the member for Leichardt, Warren Entsch. Like John Gorton, he is a wonderful mix of gruffness and empathy that made him the most unexpected but compelling of warriors.
Nothing in the bill takes away from civil freedoms, Smith says, clearly warning conservatives against their looming push for amendments.
The change proposed in this bill is not revolutionary, it is evolutionary.
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The conservative elements of the Coalition are talking up the plight of bakers and florists as the rationale for their push for greater religious protections in the same-sex marriage bill. What does a religious florist do if a same-sex couple comes to them asking for flowers for their wedding?
Liberal MP Tim Wilson, a key yes campaigner, has described such concerns as a “furphy”.
I’ve yet to meet this mystical baker or florist who doesn’t want to be able to provide services to weddings, all types of wedding.
I think this is just the last stand of some people.
Wilson lets us in on a secret. Like many of the yes campaigners, he didn’t get much sleep last night. Who would have guessed? He also tells us he’s now in a predicament, until now unfamiliar for same-sex couples.
I’ll be frank with you, Virginia [Trioli]. You know, I’ve been engaged for so long, it terrifies me now of the prospect that I’m actually going to be married.
Liberal MP Tim Wilson with partner Ryan Bolger before/after the same-sex marriage survey announcement pic.twitter.com/SDj1kc2Jx4
— Alex Ellinghausen (@ellinghausen) November 15, 2017
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Ahead of the same-sex marriage debate starting at 9.30am – The Equality Campaign lines up with Smith, Wilson, Zimmerman & Evans pic.twitter.com/g6cIAeP4zC
— Lane Sainty (@lanesainty) November 15, 2017
There were joyous scenes across the nation last night as Australians took to the streets in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra to celebrate the historic vote.
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Alex Greenwich, co-chair of Australian Marriage Equality, was one of the key yes campaigners. He said the survey had been a “tough experience”, but the yes campaign was deliberately positive and had delivered an emphatic win.
“When the government dropped the ball on this, the community and supporters of same-sex marriage picked up that ball,” he told Sky News.
Greenwich said it was a “wonderful moment” to see Tony Abbott’s sister, Christine Forster, announce the results of her brother’s electorate, Warringah, to crowds in Sydney. Warringah voted 75% in favour of same-sex marriage.
Greenwich said the yes campaigners’ work does not stop now.
🎉 THANK YOU 🎉
— AU Marriage Equality (@AMEquality) November 14, 2017
This all happened because of you.
We did this together. pic.twitter.com/4vWuIj9bpB
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Tony Burke, the manager of opposition business in the House of Representatives, has sent a strong signal to MPs in the house this morning, regarding the same-sex marriage legislation.
He said “there will be a problem” if MPs in the house try to move amendments to the same-sex marriage bill after it comes down to the house from the Senate.
The bill will originate in the Senate, and be debated there today, along with any amendments. The process could take weeks, but once it is passed in the Senate it will come to the House of Reps for a final vote.
Burke said if anyone in the house tried to move their own amendments to the bill – after it had already been debated in the Senate – it would cause unwanted complications.
“The one risk in all of this is if the House of Representatives decides on a different set of amendments to the Senate, you’ll end up with a dispute between the houses.
“After all of this, if we end up with the Senate voting for marriage equality, the Reps voting for a different form of marriage equality, and nothing happening as a result, I don’t think the Australian people will be in a forgiving mood.
“So my view [is], the Senate will have a detailed debate and will deal with amendments. Once they’ve dealt with the bill my view in the House of Representatives will be to, unless there’s something extraordinary, to resist the amendments that come forward in our house.”
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Just a bit more on the timings. Debate will begin on the Dean Smith bill this morning, about 9.30am. The government expects the debate in the Senate to be concluded by the end of the next sitting week. The bill will then go to the House of Representatives and be dealt with by the time it rises on 7 December, if not earlier. It will then need to be rubber stamped by the governor general before it becomes law.
Attorney general George Brandis spoke to the ABC a bit earlier this morning. He has repeated the guarantee that “this will be done by Christmas”.
“If ever there was a measure which has an emphatic democratic mandate, it is this. And as you say it is now up to the parliament to give effect to the wishes of the Australian people,” Brandis said.
Brandis doesn’t think Smith’s bill needs a lot of amendment, only a “little bit of fine tuning”.
He said neither of the amendments he foreshadowed yesterday are “strictly legally necessary” but they are worthwhile to give reassurance to no voters, that their religious freedoms won’t be impinged on.
The most important thing, Brandis says, is that the amendments do not divert the parliament away from the clear mandate it was given by the people yesterday.
“There can be no amendments that derogate from that basic proposition,” Brandis said.
“I agree with what Penny Wong said, as a matter of fact, in the Senate yesterday,” he said,
“We haven’t voted to remove one form of discrimination only to erect another form of discrimination.”
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Seselja says survey result is not 'blank cheque' for parliament
It hasn’t taken long for the conservatives to begin their push for greater religious protections in the same-sex marriage bill.
Zed Seselja, a Liberal senator, says the survey was not a “blank cheque”.
Seselja said the Australian people voted for same-sex marriage, not Dean Smith’s bill. He’ll respect the will of the people, but said he wants to see greater protections for religious freedom and parental choice in the bill.
Seselja is from the ACT, which delivered a resounding yes vote of 74%, by far the highest of any state or territory.
Seselja is a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage, and says he’s made that position clear prior to standing for election.
Asked whether he’ll support Dean Smith’s bill as it stands, he responds:
“I’ll certainly be pushing for a strengthening of Dean Smith’s bill in its current form,” he said.
“I’m going to respect the will of the Australian people, but it’s not a blank cheque. It wasn’t a vote for Dean Smith’s bill as it is, it was a vote for same-sex marriage.”
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Good morning and welcome
It’s the last day of Senate sittings for the week and the parliament will be dominated completely by, you guessed it, same-sex marriage.
After yesterday’s historic vote, attention is now well and truly on the passage of the same-sex marriage bill through parliament.
Malcolm Turnbull wants same-sex marriage passed into law by Christmas. So how is that going to be achieved? The decks of parliament have been cleared. Today, the Senate will do nothing else but consider how to legislate marriage equality.
- We learned yesterday that James Paterson’s bill, which proposed greater protections to discriminate against same-sex weddings, has been withdrawn. That leaves us with the bill of moderate Liberal Dean Smith. Smith’s bill has cross-party support, has been through a committee, and is widely considered the only starting point for legislating same-sex marriage.
- Smith’s bill was introduced yesterday and the senator will give his second reading speech today, followed by debate, and a series of proposed amendments.
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Attorney general George Brandis has already proposed two amendments. One to allow civil celebrants to choose not to be involved in same-sex weddings. Another guarantees it is lawful for anyone to express their religious views on marriage.
- The Coalition’s conservatives will be pushing hard for stronger religious protections. What they want to ensure is that introducing same-sex marriage does not somehow impinge on freedom of speech, freedom of religion or freedom of choice. Basically, they want to ensure people who don’t want to have to service same-sex marriage can do so.
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Malcolm Turnbull has already said he will not countenance introducing new forms of discrimination against same-sex couples while introducing same-sex marriage. Expect Labor and the Greens to strongly resist significant changes to the Smith bill. The Greens say they have already made compromises to accept the Smith bill in its current form.
It should be an interesting day, to say the least. So stick with us, and we’ll navigate the quagmire together.
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