Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Amy Remeikis

'Ensuring integrity' union bill defeated in Senate as One Nation votes with Labor – as it happened

Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts
Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts vote with the greens and Labor to defeat the government’s union bill in the senate chamber of Parliament House in Canberra. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Well, that has been quite the day!

There will be a few rough heads from the government side early tomorrow morning, methinks. Because even if you don’t drink, you’d probably want to take it up after those last few days.

A week is a long time in politics and next week the government could be in a completely different position. But for right now, Labor MPs return back to their electorates secure they have had a small win.

They’ll all be back on Monday though, with medevac the big legislative ticket item. The Angus Taylor issue will still be ticking over. As will the fallout from One Nation’s last minute switch on IR.

Make sure you check back on the Guardian for the latest on all of that over the next few days – you’ll have all the news and analysis you would need until the blog is back for the final sitting week on Monday.

Sadly, I will not be with you. I have been called away on personal business, meaning I will miss the final week. It’s not goodbye though – I’ll be back on the blog in February when parliament returns for 2020. Let me just say though this year, it has been an absolute pleasure and honour to steer the politics live ship. You guys make turning up to work a dream. As do the entire Canberra team – Mike Bowers, Katharine Murphy, Sarah Martin and Paul Karp – and the rest of the Guardian brains trust. I am truly sorry I miss the final week of 2019 batshit insanity, but I will be with you in spirit. And I know that Chris Knaus will take very good care of you all for the final four sitting days.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday period and summer. I hope your Christmas, if that’s your thing, is full of love and laughter. I hope you get time doing the things and seeing the people who make you shine.

You can find me on the socials if you need to send me any missives. Thank you for a wonderful year. And please – take care of you.

Updated

“Scott Morrison has been a marketing man, not a governor,” says Malcolm Roberts.

He wants the government to “start governing”.

Updated

Jacqui Lambie has now released a statement on ensuring integrity:

I’ve been very clear from the start. Thugs like John Setka should not be allowed to hold office in their union. He has to go. I’ve always said he has to go. I said I’d vote for a bill that would get rid of John Setka and put the CFMEU on notice. The government didn’t want to work with me to get the bill to that final form.

If the government really wanted to get rid of Setka they wouldn’t have drafted the bill like this. They would have backed amendments that would have lined him up and taken him down. They would have supported my amendments. They had the chance to. But they didn’t because they were too cocky that they’d get their win without me. Well, guess what. Look where that gets you.

Let me be crystal clear – the decision to not get rid of John Setka wasn’t mine. It was the government who decided to let him off with a warning.

The government amendments would have left him there with a clean slate and a blemish-free record. They would have given him a 10-year window to just play nice and go with grace.

That’s not something I am going to abide by.

And without my amendments, I had to decide whether to support a bill that both wouldn’t remove Setka and would throw every other well-behaved union under the bus.

I had to make a call whether to support a bill that makes out like teachers, nurses and fireys are as bad as the CFMEU. It puts the bloody Musicians’ Union of Australia in the same camp as the ETU for goodness sake! There’s no need to put everyone in the firing line.

My amendments would have applied serious penalties to serious conduct. The bad guys would have been taken out. But the good guys would be spared.

I gave the government the chance to support amendments that protect good unionists and line up bad ones. They said no, we’ll go it alone, and they lost. Now there’s nothing. And thanks to the Coalition’s bloody-minded arrogance, they have nothing to show for their work.

Criminal officials bring their union into disrepute. These people don’t deserve to have a leadership role in a union. By being there, they undermine the union movement and they actually hurt union members.

I’m the only person in this place who had proposed realistic solutions to address these problems.

I gave the government a chance. I put together amendments that hit the worst offenders and spared the overwhelming majority of union members and officials who aren’t big bloody thugs.

They said no. They didn’t want to bother. They lost out.

Finally, I have a message to the broader union movement that I stood up for today – it’s time they cleaned house!

Updated

“My vote and my opinion will never be based on that...no way in the wide world,” Pauline Hanson says, when asked if this was about the upcoming Queensland election.

“If you think that, then you don’t know this lady,” Malcolm Roberts says.

Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts are holding a press conference.

She says it is all about the workers.

“Especially this week, when Westpac had 23m breaches...and Scott Morrison said ‘this is not for us to deal with’...it wasn’t good enough.”

“I just feel that it is not fair on the Australian people. This is a warning shot across the bows of the unions and the Australian government.”

Hanson says the unions need to “clean up your act”.

And the government:

“Clean up the white collar crime, go after the banking officials and prove to the people of Australia that you are here for everyone.”

Updated

Tony Burke has issued a statement:

Scott Morrison’s anti-worker union-bashing laws have been defeated in the Senate – and should now be abandoned.

These were extreme laws that would have given the government unprecedented powers, unparalleled anywhere in the developed world, to sack union officials and shut down entire unions for minor breaches.

The government arrogantly believed they had this vote in the bag – but the Senate has delivered them a humiliating rejection.

This was a week in which Scott Morrison sought to impose standards on unions that he refused to impose on banks or members of his own Cabinet.

Throughout this debate, Labor has been proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Australian workers and the unions that represent them.

From the largest unions like the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation to the smallest volunteer-run unions – Labor stood with them to resist this attack on their capacity to organise.

These are the organisations that fight for higher wages, combat wage theft and exploitation and keep workers safe.

Labor thanks the crossbenchers who voted with us to oppose these dangerous and extreme laws.

But while this bill has been defeated, workers should not rest easy.

This has always been two-stage attack from the government.

This year, the government has gone after the organisations that represent, protect and fight for workers.

Starting next year, they will come after workers’ pay and conditions directly. The Liberals are already talking about watering down unfair dismissal laws and scrapping the Better Off Overall Test.

Updated

Just a small point - Queensland goes to the polls in October next year.

Can’t imagine Pauline Hanson would have been too happy with a union campaign being run against her, with the parliament looking like heading to another minority, given the Palaszczuk government run lately.

Even a whiff of holding the balance of power in a home state can be enough.

And here is the whole statement from Pauline Hanson on why she switched sides in the final moment:

Pauline Hanson has spoken:

Penny Wong on Christian Porter saying he will working on bringing the vote back:

“If he does bang his chest and brings this forward next week, my question would be ‘what’s changed?’”

Updated

That moment you realise it has all gone wrong.

If you go frame by frame on the tape, you can see the exact moment the heart breaks

The Senate has moved on to its adjournment debate.

Seems time this had a run again

The government was aware that Jacqui Lambie was a no, after it rejected her amendments.

But it didn’t think that mattered, because with One Nation, they had one more vote than it needed.

Eggs in the hand and all that.

It is understood that One Nation confirmed its support for the amendments as recently as today.

But the government did notice that the unions did go quiet on social media today.

Apparently Pauline Hanson has not yet explained herself to the government.

This has been a pretty big win for Penny Wong, and Anthony Chisholm (who often does a lot of negotiations with the crossbench) as well.

Michele O’Neil says “we have been talking constructively with senator Hanson, but we did not know the final vote”.

Michele O’Neil says the unions have been talking to all the crossbenchers.

“We are convinced not just the time we have spent talking to them, but all the thousands of people who contacted them, made the difference.”

But she adds that they weren’t sure of the vote until it happened.

Asked about the government bringing back the bill, O’Neil says, “Well, if they want to be humiliated twice, they should do that.”

Updated

Michele O’Neil says the bill’s defeat is a “victory for democracy”.

“It is the efforts of ordinary workers who have defeated this bill,” she says.

She also thanks the crossbenchers – Jacqui Lambie and One Nation for “taking the time” to listen to concerns and defeat the bill.

Sally McManus says she has a message for Scott Morrison: “Don’t underestimate working people ... they don’t like double standards.”

Updated

So many headlines are being re-written right now.

Which is why we have sentences like “the Morrison government has secured a shock defeat on industrial relations, with a bill cracking down on rogue unions failing in the Senate.”

Christian Porter has released a statement:

Obviously I am very disappointed in the result in the Senate.

It’s for Pauline Hanson to explain why she voted against a bill that met every requirement she sought through extensive consultation.

This is important reform which seeks to ensure that registered organisations obey the law. It is as simple as that.

We remain committed to this reform and will be seeking to reintroduce the bill at an appropriate time.

This is a pretty big troll.

Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts vote with the greens and Labor to defeat the Ensuring Integrity Bill in the senate chamber of Parliament House
Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts vote with the greens and Labor to defeat the Ensuring Integrity Bill in the senate chamber of Parliament House Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Pauline Hanson and Jacqui Lambie embrace after voting with the greens and Labor to defeat the Ensuring Integrity Bill
Pauline Hanson and Jacqui Lambie embrace after voting with the greens and Labor to defeat the Ensuring Integrity Bill. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

The Greens are the first cab off the rank about the government’s loss on ensuring integrity. From Adam Bandt:

“This is a victory for working Australians and for Australia’s democracy. This is a victory for the power of organising and of everyday people power.

We have a government who is determined to limit the power of workers and their unions and reduce their ability to stand up to the powerful, but today, they lost.

If this government was really committed to integrity, then we would have a federal anti-corruption watchdog to hold politicians to account. Instead, the prime minister is prepared to let a minister continue to serve while being investigated by the police. This government has no integrity when it comes to integrity.

The Australians Greens will always stand up for unions and working Australians in their effort to fight for higher wages and better working conditions.

The Greens are proud to stand alongside the union movement and Australian workers in celebrating this victory.”

Updated

Sally McManus and Michele O’Neil will hold a press conference at 5.30.

That’s been a heck of a campaign.

To be even clearer - that bill was meant to be the government’s one guaranteed win this week.

And then...

One Nation just voted with Labor, the Greens and Jacqui Lambie to block the Ensuring Integrity bill. It wasn’t a mistake.

Liberal senators were staring at their phones trying to work out what had happened.

Labor and Greens senators cheered - and one bitter Coalition senator shouted out “thanks Malcolm [Roberts]” across the chamber.

On my way back to the Guardian office I saw a clearly shocked Labor senator Catryna Bilyk profusely thanking Hanson and Roberts. Hanson said that One Nation “votes on merit”.

As we’re not allowed to interview people in the corridor I asked if Hanson would like to invite me into her office to explain. She declined.

Updated

Paul Karp says One Nation knew what they doing - and they deliberately sat with the government.

So the government could bring it back to a vote - a tie means that the status quo remains, but the government can bring it back.

Again - what even is today.

So just to be clear - One Nation switched its vote at the final hurdle and the bill was defeated.

The Senate is dividing on the question that the bill as amended be agreed to.

Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts are voting with Labor, the Greens and Jacqui Lambie!

It was tied 34-34 - so the question was negated. Labor and Greens clap.

One Nation votes against ensuring Integrity

We see it but we don’t believe it.

Senator Hanson and Senator Roberts just sat with Labor to oppose the Ensuring Integrity Bill.

Final vote:

Ayes – 34

Noes – 34

That means that the Bill has a tied vote has NOT passed.

Moving off Greens amendments to government ones – at first it looked like Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts were split on one set.

But the vote was re-run and Anne Ruston dispatched to explain what was what. Both One Nation senators (and Centre Alliance) voted with the government – a pattern which, if it continues, will see the bill pass.

Then came Jacqui Lambie amendments, which are designed to ensure unions are not deregistered for taking industrial action; and to ask for a review of the bill after 12 months.

Here One Nation were split – with Hanson voting with Labor and the Greens, and Roberts voting with the government.

Still, Lambie lost the vote 35 to 33.

Updated

The last of the ensuring integrity amendments are being voted on.

Once this is done, the third reading vote will be held.

Then it goes back to the house to be agreed upon with the amendments.

Then it goes back to the Senate for one last time.

Then once it passes there (which it will, because the crossbench is on board) it just needs royal assent, and then it’s law.

Voting has started on a series of amendments to the Coalition’s bill to facilitate deregistration of unions and disqualification of their officials.

We’ll get a series of votes on amendments then a final vote at the third reading stage to pass the bill.

First up is the Greens amendments, the most controversial of which stipulates the law will not come into effect until after the establishment of a National Integrity Commission.

The first Greens amendment – raising the threshold of demerit points for deregistration – was voted down 36 to 32.

Jacqui Lambie voted with the Greens and Labor in favour; Centre Alliance voted with the government against. I can’t see Pauline Hanson or Malcolm Roberts in the chamber.

Updated

Labor has put together what it says is the four times Scott Morrison has misled the house in the past 24 hours: Morrison’s misattribution of a radio talkback host quote to a Victorian police officer (which he wrote to the House and corrected), accusing Labor of gagging debate on veterans when it was about the Naif (although Phil Thompson did mention veteran suicides) claiming Labor voted against the second reading of the Defence Service Homes Amendment Bill (Labor voted for it) and then correcting the record by saying Labor voted against the third reading of that bill (when Labor voted for it).

Updated

Angus Taylor has responded to Labor’s rejection of the pair:

I sought a pair to attend the International Energy Agency’s conference in Paris to finalise discussions with counterparts to address fuel security issues in Australia.

At this meeting I was planning to further discussions with the US about access to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and push Australia’s case to modernise the IEA’s outdated rules that disproportionately affect Australia due to its geographic remoteness.

Labor have rejected that pair – they are clearly not serious about fuel security and protecting Australia’s interests.

Ensuring integrity is about to get back under way in the Senate.

Updated

Today, the Greens MP and justice spokesperson David Shoebridge has referred the NSW police commissioner to the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission as a result of his disclosures to the prime minister, Scott Morrison, about an ongoing police investigation into the emissions reduction minister, Angus Taylor. Here is an excerpt of the referral:

There are two significant concerns that arise as a result of this. This first is that Commissioner Fuller either knew, or reasonably ought to have known, that Prime Minister Morrison and Minister Taylor were close political colleagues. Given this, it was highly inappropriate for Commissioner Fuller to be disclosing any details of the police investigation into Mr Taylor to Prime Minister Morrison other than those that were on the public record. It goes without saying that Prime Minister Morrison has a vested political interest in the police investigation failing to find any misconduct by his Minister.

The second significant concern arises from the personal relationship between Commissioner Fuller and Prime Minister Morrison and the fact that this relationship constitutes a clear conflict of interest on the part of Commissioner Fuller. This relationship includes, according to Commissioner Fuller, having been neighbours during which time Morrison would collect his rubbish bins for him. The exact nature of this relationship now appears to be contested by the two men in their very recent public debate.

Shoebridge said:

No one, not the prime minister and not the police commissioner, is above the law and people in high office are expected to abide by high standards.

We have referred this matter to the LECC because it is a genuinely independent and non-partisan body that’s job is to investigate these kinds of matters.

We cannot allow any political interference in a police investigation and both the police commissioner and the prime minister should have known better.

Updated

David Shoebridge refers NSW police commissioner to integrity commission

Our colleague Naaman Zhou has just spoken to David Shoebridge, who says he has referred Mick Fuller to the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission over the phone call with Scott Morrison regarding the Angus Taylor investigation.

Shoebridge is referring Fuller under section 10 of the LECC Act for serious misconduct.

“Commissioner Fuller either knew, or reasonably ought to have known, that Prime Minister Morrison and Minister Taylor were close political colleagues. Given this, it was highly inappropriate for Commissioner Fuller to be disclosing any details of the police investigation into Mr Taylor to Prime Minister Morrison.”

Shoebridge also claimed there was a conflict of interest between Fuller and Morrison because of the “personal relationship” the pair have previously spoken of, and being neighbours (or bin-gate) which they now claim was a joke.

Updated

The talks go from 2 December to 13 December – so Angus Taylor could still attend the tail end, if he so wished.

Updated

Labor rejects Angus Taylor pair

Labor received a request earlier this week to pair Angus Taylor for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week, so he could attend United Nation-led climate talks in Paris and Madrid.

Labor wrote back today to say no – the reason being it doesn’t think it is appropriate that a minister under police investigation should be granted leave, when there are still questions to be answered.

Marise Payne who is going to the same talks, has been granted a pair (as is precedent).

The government now needs to decide whether Taylor misses the talks or loses a number.

Updated

The matter of public importance begins – it is on robodebt and is being led by Bill Shorten – and Tim Wilson starts non-stop heckling about the number of Labor MPs who have left the chamber (there are still more Labor MPs in the chamber than Coalition MPs though).

“Will you shut up,” someone from Labor yells.

Andrew Giles appeals to the deputy speaker, pointing at Wilson, but Wilson seems to get bored of his own steam and wanders off.

Updated

Anthony Albanese associates the opposition with the comments of Darren Chester about the need to do more on veteran suicide.

Tony Pasin is muttering loudly about the “disrespect” Labor showed earlier.

Scott Morrison adds his words and thoughts to the question.

He calls an end to question time, but moves to correct the record first and says that Labor voted against the “third reading” of the defence force homes legislation.

He walks out of the chamber as Labor goes nuts, calling Morrison a liar.

They can’t bring Morrison back in, because question time is over, so Albanese makes a personal explanation.

The prime minister has suggested that I as leader of Labor and the rest of my team voted against the second reading of the legislation, we did not, he just suggested we voted against the third reading, we did not.”

It is pretty extraordinary – the votes are a matter of public record.

Updated

Labor loses its bid, and the house returns to its seats.

We have at least one more dixer. The folders are stacked and the phone has been placed on top, so hopefully Scott Morrison just has one more question in mind.

The dixer is from Phil Thompson on veteran suicides. The Labor benches are s i l e n t as Darren Chester speaks.

Updated

In the most shocking news this week, Tony Pasin has avoided the front bench in this division.

Luke Howarth is there though.

Karen Andrews and Clint Eastwood’s imaginary Obama sit next to Angus Taylor.

Updated

We get to the final division, where they swap sides.

Or as Tony Pasin thinks of it “frontbench time”.

Updated

The screen which shows what the procedure is on the floor of the house just said:

“That the member be no longer hard” following Mark Butler’s contribution, which caused a lot of mirth on the floor of the chamber.

Updated

Nick McKim labels Australia 'authoritarian state' after Marise Payne makes statement on imprisonment of Witness J

Marise Payne, representing the attorney general, has just made a statement about the mysterious imprisonment of Witness J.

Payne said that court orders prevent publication of information about the case and the orders were made with the consent of the parties.

“In any legal proceedings the commonwealth attorney general or other parties can seek orders to protect sensitive information. It is always at the discretion of the court whether to make such orders.”

Nick McKim took note of the answer:

“In the 21st century there is a person who has been secretly charged, secretly sentenced and secretly imprisoned in Australia ...

“When asked to provide further information, the attorney general’s representative has refused or been unable to provide further information.

This is a shocking example of secrecy and abuse of state power, and our descent into a police state.

“Open justice is critical to the rule of law, which in turn is critical to our democracy.”

McKim concludes by suggesting Australia is now an “authoritarian state” and calling for a bill of rights.

Updated

Mood

The Prime Minister Scott Morrison and minister for emissions reduction Angus Taylor during question time
The prime minister Scott Morrison and minister for emissions reduction Angus Taylor during question time. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

The motion

I seek leave to move the following motion —

That the House notes that this week:

detectives from the NSW Police Force’s State Crime Command Financial Crimes Squad launched Strike Force Garrad to investigate whether the Minister for Emissions Reduction committed a crime;

the prime minister refused to stand down the minister while the subject of a criminal investigation notwithstanding the Ministerial Standards;

the prime minister called the NSW Police Commissioner and discussed the nature, substance and instigation of the criminal investigation;

former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, former NSW ICAC Commissioner David Ipp QC, and former NSW ICAC Counsel Assisting Geoffrey Watson SC have criticised the prime minister’s call;

the prime minister misled the House while defending the deliberate misleading of the House by the minister and refused to apologise and correct the record;

the prime minister failed to answer questions about his conduct, or the conduct of the Minister, and prevented Parliament debating this scandal 20 times; and

therefore, the House calls on the prime minister to:
acknowledge the Minister for Emissions Reduction deliberately misled the House;

acknowledge the prime minister’s decision to call the NSW police commissioner was inappropriate;

correct the record in person and apologise for misleading the House on Wednesday;

correct the record in person and apologise for misleading the House today by claiming the opposition voted against the second reading of the Defence Service Homes Amendment Bill 2019 when it supported it;

undertake to fully cooperate with the NSW Police Force criminal investigation; and

stand down the minister for emissions reduction.

Updated

Would really like someone to unchain my heart from my love of politics at this stage.

Updated

Labor is now moving to suspend standing orders in question time for what is the third day in a row.

Former foreign minister Julie Bishop spoke at lunchtime in Sydney at the Centre for Independent Studies, on “Waking up to the China Challenge”.

She said she was asked “almost daily” about the choice Australia was allegedly confronted with, a choice between China (the trade relationship) and the US (the security alliance). Bishop argued it was a false dichotomy.

“We back ourselves, our interests, our values, our principles. We always choose Australia.”

“I do believe Australia can continue to maintain its relationship with China while remaining an ally of the US.”

Asked about self-declared Chinese “spy” Wang Liqiang, who this week outed himself in the Australian media as he seeks asylum, Bishop said she would not rush to judgement.

“I understand that Asio and security agencies are working hard to establish the veracity of the allegations. The fact that he has sought to out himself raises fascinating questions. In my experience, if there were truly a spy, from any nation, that person would be enveloped within our intelligence community and would be nowhere near the media.”

Barely half a kilometre away at the Lowy Institute, at the same time, Bishop’s erstwhile colleague, former prime minister Tony Abbott was speaking about ... China.

He told the audience there Australia’s China choice was becoming more difficult as the country grew more and more assertive.

“It was much easier to avoid hard choices when China appeared to be liberalising,” he said, citing its militarisation of the South China Sea, its repression and imprisonment of members of the Uyghur minority, and President Xi’s consolidation of power.

Abbott said when a country’s biggest trading partner was also its greatest strategic challenge “living with trouble has to be taken for granted ... we will need to become less starry-eyed about the Chinese government”.

Updated

If only there was a way MPs could enter information into some sort of internet search engine thing and find the answer to questions they yell out in QT.

Updated

Scott Morrison:

As I assured the House earlier this week, the government of course will cooperate fully with the New South Wales police investigation and as I said, Mr Speaker, we will wait for that investigation and if there are any further matters for me to consider at that time of course I will.

The matters I was invited to address earlier this week by the leader of the opposition was the application of the ministerial standards and I addressed myself to those issues in the way I outlined to the House. That’s where the matter stands now. I note in the matters - that the leader of the opposition has raised with me, he has established this principle which says that when a member, when a minister, a senior member of my team, Mr Speaker, who is the subject of an investigation that they should, Mr Speaker, immediately have to stand aside.

And I note that that was not a standard that the Labor party pursued when they were in government.

I note that it is not a standard that they have sought to apply in opposition when members of their own frontbench, Mr Speaker, have been the subject of police investigation for very serious issues in the past, that has not been the cause for those members to stand aside.


What is clear now is the leader of the opposition today was not prepared to apply the same standard that he seeks of the government to his own frontbenchers.

He refused to apply this standard to his own frontbenchers. That’s called a hypocrite. That’s called a hypocrite Mr Speaker.

Updated

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

I refer to the Strike Force Garrad investigation and to a report that just before 2pm it has taken copies of correspondence and the metadata showing details of any alterations from the City of Sydney website relating to travel and the suggestions from the minister for emissions reduction. Has the government also provided all relevant emails, documents, text messages, phone records, data, metadata and encrypted messages to the New South Wales police and will it ...

“How do you know that,” comes from the government backbench, including Tim Wilson.

Oh I don’t know? Perhaps because it is in the public domain?

Updated

Mark Butler to Angus Taylor:

My question again is to the minister for emissions reduction. On 24 October the minister told the House, and I quote, ‘The document was drawn directly from the City of Sydney’s website. It was publicly available.’ A claim he repeated in a written statement tabled in the parliament on Monday and stood by in his previous answer today. Does the minister stand by his statement on 24 October?

There is a lot of back and forth over whether or not Taylor should answer this question. We eventually get to him returning to the despatch box. Tony Smith looks like he is going to be chewing panadol like peanuts after this session.

Taylor:

Yes, I do stand by that statement, and I remind those opposite that I said in that statement, ‘I reject absolutely the suggestion that I or any members of my staff altered the documents in question.’ But the Labor party has, in typical fashion, dramatically overreached by claiming these documents were forged or altered. The Labor party has a track record of using police referrals as a political tool, Mr Speaker.

Albanese points out that Taylor himself has apologised over the wrong figures. But we move on.

Updated

Ed Husic has just been told to “just end the conversation with yourself”.

Husic takes it with good grace. I mean, at least it was a conversation with someone he liked.

Updated

Here is the the bit the prime minister is talking about, in terms of shutting down Phil Thompson’s contribution:

Phil Thompson: I’d like to start by addressing some of the falsehoods that the shadow minister decided to throw around just previously, and then I’ll talk on this bill as well as suicide prevention, and that all comes into the cost pressures, especially in north Queensland.

We’re talking about the NAIF, and I found it quite ironic that someone from the south-east corner would be sitting across from me, pointing and saying that we’re not doing anything in the north.

Shayne Neumann: What would you know?

PT: Maybe you should stay in your patch, mate. Because the NAIF has rolled out some projects within north Queensland which include at JCU and at the airport – and the JCU did take quite a while to get over the line because the Labor state government decided to put up roadblocks because that’s how it works. It’s OK, I’m happy to educate the shadow minister on how the NAIF works a little bit later, because that’s not why we’re here.

We are here to talk about the prime minister’s and Minister Chester’s announcement that we would extend the eligibility –

Deputy speaker: The member for Herbert will resume his seat.

Michelle Rowland: I move:

That the Member be no longer heard.

Updated

Mark Butler to Angus Taylor:

Has the minister or his office had any communication from the prime minister or the prime minister’s office about the content of the phone call between the prime minister and the New South Wales police commissioner on Tuesday?

Taylor:

I’ve said to the prime minister what I have said to the House. And I will remind those opposite - I’ll remind those opposite that I made a statement...

And I stand by the statement that I made - that I tabled in the House earlier and I have nothing to add to it. Now, as I have said repeatedly to the House, I reject absolutely the suggestion that I or any members of my staff altered the documents in question.

Butler jumps up on relevancy, but Tony Smith tells him he has wasted his point of order.

Taylor, thinking he has had a win comes back, but badly misjudges the speaker’s mood:

This is a pathetic, outrageous accusation by those opposite.

We know exactly what this is about. It’s about distracting us from our strong focus on delivering a better deal ... I’ll say to the minister. I’m pleased to report that according to the ABS we’ve had the first ever ...

Tony Smith:

The minister will – he’s now straying beyond the question. The minister needs to be directly relevant to the question. The question did not ask about ABS figures or anything of the like so the minister needs to be directly relevant or resume his seat.

Taylor, looking a lot like how baby Amy did after getting caught giving my baby sister a haircut (it was eventually evened out after a few subsequent haircuts) returns to the despatch box.

“Those opposite are all smear and no idea.”

Updated

Christian Porter is vying for “best dramatic performance of union thuggery” and you know what, I think he might have it.

Updated

Anthony Albanese to Tony Smith, seeking to table Hansard:
“I seek leave to table the Hansard that shows that the member for Herbert was talking about NAIF, Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility and attacking the Palaszczuk government. Not talking...[about suicide]

Smith:

I understand the point the leader of the opposition’s trying to make but I’m not going to allow Hansard to be tabled. I mean, there is nothing more accessible than Hansard as the leader of the opposition has shown.

Christian Porter:

Well, you know on this occasion we’d probably be willing to provide leave to table Hansard given that what the member said was ‘Then I will talk on this bill as well as suicide prevention.’ So table away. [Imagine the mic drop here]

Ed Husic: “It would have been better if you did Blue Steel.

Smith [using his best exasperated dad voice]

Sorry, I don’t think anyone was listening. I’m not having Hansard tabled.

We move on.



Updated

Mark Butler to Scott Morrison: (Butler’s brow is still appropriately furrowed for those playing at home)

Did the prime minister or his office brief Phil Coorey from the Australian Financial Review that, and I quote, ‘Morrison reported back to the House that he was not standing Taylor aside basically because Fuller told him the investigation was not much more than a phone call to Moore’s office.’

Morrison:

I refer the member to my response that I tabled in this House ... as to the nature of my call with the Commissioner of police and I refer them also to the statements made by the commissioner about the contents of that call. Mr Speaker, once again, that is the 64th time I think that the – those opposite have asked questions about that – this matter.

That is four times the number of questions they have asked on drought and drought policy in this chamber since the election.

Mr Speaker, it’s more questions than they’ve asked on the economy, it’s more than they’ve asked on childcare. They’ve asked two questions on national security, three on education, six on health, but 64 on this matter. You know what it says about the leader of the opposition? He’s more interested in the political games of Canberra than he is the real issues that the people of Australia voted for us to focus on.

And we’re totally focused on those. Mr Speaker, I’m not distracted by the desperate political games by the leader of the opposition. The leader of the opposition would be the Manager of Opposition Business than he would be the prime minister. Because he’d rather engage himself in all the silly little games and tantrums and sooking and sulking that we have seen from this leader of the opposition.

Mr Speaker, but all of that comes to naught when you compare it with the depth of the tactics he stooped to today by silencing a veteran of this country.

Updated

Senate question time has been all Angus Taylor all the time. Mathias Cormann stuck by Taylor and read a long list of his achievements - a list which did not include reducing emissions, despite him being the minister for emissions reduction.

Then Labor switches tack to Simon Birmingham - querying why he had said on the ABC that Taylor sourced the erroneous document from the City of Sydney website, but in the Senate he said only that that is what Taylor has advised.

Murray Watt started singing The Wheels on the Bus (Go Round and Round), in reference to his belief Birmingham’s earlier answer had thrown Taylor under the bus.

Birmingham said he received briefings from Taylor, and repeated that he was advised it was sourced from the City of Sydney website. “They can continue to ask again and they’re going to get the same answer again.”

Labor’s Penny Wong then asked who doctored the document, and Birmingham rejected the premise because “according to Mr Taylor” it was downloaded from the council website. Wong makes much of the fact he won’t say in parliament that he doesn’t know who doctored it.

Updated

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

My question is addressed to the prime minister. How can the prime minister claim that the opposition made no objection to his statement that he would call the New South Wales police commissioner about the substance of Strike Force Garrad into one of his cabinet ministers when the prime minister has prevented the Parliament debating this deepening scandal 20 times this week.

Morrison:

I’m sorry to have offended the precious sensitivities of the leader of the opposition, Mr Speaker.

On the issue of gag motions, Mr Speaker, that he has raised in his question. The one thing the leader of the opposition should apologise for is by running the sort of political game tactics we have seen on display this week and in its worst form today where the leader of the opposition voted to gag a veteran of this country who was seeking to speak about veteran suicide in this country.

He was on the top of the list of those who vetted to gag that member.

But it wasn’t only that. The very bill he was speaking on was about the defence service homes amendment bill which expands eligibility for the defence service homes insurance scheme to current and former members of the Australian Defence Force. Mr Speaker, on the second reading, they voted against this bill.

The only people who should be apologising in this chamber is the leader of the Labor party. For his grubby political games.

Labor points out it did not vote against the bill, but the prime minister has concluded his answer.

Updated

So many chains to pull. So little time.

It’s a small point, and I am sure a lot of people would argue semantics, but on the “who did you think I was going to call defence/I told you I was going to do it” that Scott Morrison is using, he didn’t actually say he would call the NSW police commissioner - my look over of the Hansard shows he said variations of this:

I will be taking advice from the New South Wales police on any matter that they are currently looking at, and I will form a view, based on taking that advice, in considering these issues.”

Which is not ‘I am calling the police commissioner’.

That could have meant a departmental officer will call a NSW police departmental officer, to receive the same advice. Not I’m going to give the Commish a call directly about an investigation involving one of my ministers.

Updated

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

My question is again to the prime minister. Former council assisting the independent commission against corruption Geoffrey Watson SC said the prime minister’s phone call to the New South Wales police commissioner should never have happened. Stating, ‘It just looks like he’s applying pressure and it can’t be anything else. It must be a favour because why else would he be calling?’ I again ask, how on earth was that phone call appropriate?

Morrison:

I refer the leader of the opposition to my earlier answers. The leader of the opposition invited me earlier this week to inform myself of the matters that he’d raised in the parliament. And in relation to the statement of ministerial standards. And, Mr Speaker, in this very chamber ... Members on my left ... I told him exactly what I was going to do to inform myself both to comply with my duties to this House and to comply with my duties as prime minister under the ministerial statement of standards, Mr Speaker. So, Mr Speaker, I did what I said I was going to do, I was upfront about it with the Australian people.

I was upfront about it with the parliament. I went and told them what I’d done. I made a decision. What we have seen since that time is the political games being played by a leader of the opposition who is more interested in the drama and the carryings on of Canberra politics than he is in the serious issues that are being raised in this place.

Now, Mr Speaker, I know that because he was on the top of the list when it came to shutting down and gagging a veteran in this chamber who had said they wished to speak on the issue of veteran suicide.

Now, the leader of the opposition can use all the fine words he likes, but in this chamber, on his direction, one of his members moved that the member for Herbert no longer be heard.

And he wished to speak about veteran suicide. Shame on you.

Updated

The man who accused those of caring about climate change of being inner-city raving lunatics, wants the chamber to know he has been “really disappointed in the antics this week”.

Excuse me while I wipe that wet lettuce off my face.

Updated

If you ever wandered what a fusty nut missing a kernel looked like, I invite you to look into the chamber as the deputy prime minister takes this dixer.

ARE YOU FRICKING KIDDING ME?

Labor grills Scott Morrison over call to NSW police commissioner

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

Former anti-corruption commissioner and supreme court judge David Ipp AO QC has said in relation to the prime minister’s phone call to the New South Wales police commissioner, and I quote, ‘You can’t see that it’s information that relates to matters of state interest. It can only relate to matters of party interest.’ How on earth was that phone call appropriate?

Morrison:

Once again I reject the premise of the question which was raised by the leader of the opposition and I refer the member to the response by Commissioner Fuller yesterday, who said, very plainly, ‘The prime minister didn’t ask me any questions that were inappropriate. He didn’t ask for anything that was inappropriate and I’m comfortable with the discussion we had over a few minutes.’

They’re the words of the police commissioner, Mr Speaker. If the leader of the opposition wants to cast aspersions against the New South Wales police commissioner he can do so.

But I say this. The leader of the opposition raised a very serious issue with me at the beginning of this week.

On Tuesday, Mr Speaker, I undertook to fulfil my obligations which he invited me to do under the statement of ministerial standards where I had to assess whether a minister should stand aside in the circumstances he’d presented. I sought to inform myself as is entirely appropriate of the nature and substance and instigation of that investigation. I was upfront with the parliament about doing it.

... So I undertook that action as I in this House and then I went outside this place. I undertook that action and I came and reported back to this action in the parliament and the decision I have taken.

What I find strange, Mr Speaker, is that at no time during that period yesterday, I should say the day before, Mr Speaker, did the Leader of the Opposition during the course of that evening and the many interviews that he gave or indeed even after I had come back into this place and explained I’d had that conversation with the Police Commissioner, did he raise any objection. He raised no objection all night. There he was. He didn’t do it until the next day I’m advised. He didn’t do it until the next day until he read it in the Guardian. We know who’s pulling his chain.

Updated

Zali Steggall used her 90-second statement just before question time to call for silence for Australia’s domestic violence victims:

I call on the members of the 46th parliament to remember what we are elected to do in this place, to respect the institution and to fulfil our responsibility to find solutions.

One of the biggest issues facing communities out there - beyond these walls - is the scourge of domestic violence.

The statistics are horrific. On average, at least one woman dies each week as a result of intimate partner violence. Yet again this morning, we wake to the news of another woman killed. Where is the outrage? Every member of this House either has a mother, wife, sister or daughter.

I call on this parliament to draw a line and give this issue the urgent attention it deserves.

To show our respect to those women and families that we have failed to protect, I will use the remainder of my speaking time in this Chamber to pause in silence with fellow MPs.

Updated

Anne Davies has an update on the Angus Taylor investigation:

Guardian Australia can reveal the council has also already retrieved data logs, which would reveal details of what was downloaded and the IP addresses of the devices that downloaded pages, including details of who downloaded the 2017-18 annual report, following a freedom of information request from Guardian Australia two weeks ago.

So far Guardian Australia has been told that the information would need to be sorted to extract downloads of the annual report at the centre of the controversy and may raise privacy issues. Discussions on how the information might be released are continuing.

However, the New South Wales police would be able to access the logs including more detail about an IP address beyond the general geographical location of the machine and the identity of the internet service provider that services that machine.

Scott Morrison:

The Leader of the Opposition has authorised political games in this place which has gagged a veteran of this country speaking about veteran suicide.

The Leader of the Opposition should grow up from his political games and he should focus on the real issues that Australians wish to focus on and get over the politics and get on with the policy.

“Political games” is getting quite the go here. Looks like the government has found it’s line for the day.

If you have a go at political games, you’ll get a go at political games.

Question time begins

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

This morning [Scott Morrison] refused to attend this chamber and correct the record and apologise for misleading the House. Why does the Prime Minister think the usual standards of integrity and accountability don’t apply to him?

Morrison:

I don’t accept the assertion that has been put forward by the Leader of the Opposition. The matters that he referred to yesterday, Mr Speaker.

With regard to the attribution of a quote. When it was brought to my attention I took immediate action to ensure that the House was informed of that correction. Now, Mr Speaker, I hear the interjection of the Leader of the Opposition ... The reason I wrote a letter last night is because I was on a plane on the way to Sydney for a family event which the Leader of the Opposition knew about.

... Mr Speaker, that letter which I authorised was provided to the House and it was tabled here by the attorney general to ensure the House was immediately informed of the necessary correction that had to be made.

... Now, Mr Speaker, that was followed up with a further letter to the clerk and as you advised the House last night these are the appropriate forms of the House to correct the record. So if the Leader of the Opposition wants to take issue with the Speaker on this matter he’s at liberty do so.

But here we are in question time, in the nation’s capital...

The Leader of the Opposition is bickering about a quotation in an answer to a question which has been corrected for the record. This is what the Leader of the Opposition believes are the real issues facing this country.

And the political games that the Leader of the Opposition, the tawdry political games ... has been engaged in, in this House this week, found their overreach particularly today when the Leader of the Opposition voted to see that the member for Herbert could no longer be heard when he was speaking, Mr Speaker, on the issue of veteran suicide.

... So the political games being played by the Leader of the Opposition and the Labor party this week descended so low that a veteran of this country speaking about veteran suicide ...

Updated

Anthony Albanese has taken the rare step of making a 90-second statement (they are usually for backbenchers) – and he has timed it on the list for just as Scott Morrison walks into the chamber.

“An ad man with no plan, a showman, covering up a scam,” says Albanese, as Morrison takes his seat.

Updated

Who’s that MP?

It’s Tony Pasin.

It was just hard to place him, given he was sitting in the back benches (Pasin likes to make a beeline for the front bench during division votes. Almost without fail. A MP can dream, I suppose)

Members have begun their 90 second statements in the House, which means it is almost time for question time.

We’ll head into the chamber, but we all know what this hour will be about.

Five. More. To. Go.

Labor is still gagging government ministers and MPs in the chamber to make their point about the government gagging debate on Angus Taylor.

Every time a division is called, all the MPs have to run back to the chamber. Labor MPs might be prepared, but the government MPs are not.

Updated

The focus. The stance. The furrowed brow.

Take note, fellow nodders.

On the ministerial standards questions, this is what Anthony Albanese had to say:

Q: So, you would stand down one of your shadow ministers in similar circumstances, and you undertake here today to do that if any of your shadow ministers are under police investigations?

AA: If I was a minister, if I’m elected to government, I will uphold the ministerial code of conduct.

Q: So, only in government?

AA: Well, the ministerial code of conduct – the hint is, it’s a ministerial code of conduct. So, in terms of processes, the ministerial code of conduct should be followed. That’s why it’s there, for a reason. Because ministers make decisions, and they can’t be in a situation whereby they are compromised.

Q: So, there are different standards for shadow ministers under investigation, they can continue?

AA: Well, I’m not going to answer hypotheticals. I’m answering this specific question about ministerial code of conduct that applies to ministers and has applied for a very long period of time, and has always, always been the case. And what we see here, unlike what happened under Prime Minister Howard, but also under Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull, where we had people like Arthur Sinodinos, Sussan Ley, other people, standing aside.

Updated

Sam Watson will be very missed. Ken Wyatt has issued a statement on his passing:

I was saddened yesterday to learn the news of the passing of a great Indigenous Australian, Sam Watson.

I extend my deepest condolences and sympathies to his family, friends and his community. We have lost a remarkable man whose lasting influence is felt across the country.

Sam was a courageous advocate for justice here in Australia and around the world. He was never afraid of tackling some of the most complex issues that Aboriginal people faced, and continue to face, and worked tirelessly to bring these to the fore.

I engaged his wise advice and guidance in my early years as a young man.

He helped bring about a fundamental and permanent shift in Indigenous policy at the local, state and federal level through his ability to bring people together for a united cause.

He was respected by all sides of politics due to his clear commitment and passion to better the lives of Aboriginal people.

This is shown in his more recent work with Link-Up Qld which has seen many affected by the stolen generation reunited with their families and culture.

He was dependable, always present, and had a way of taking people on the journey. The importance of his life cannot be understated and Sam will be remembered for improving the lives of generations of Indigenous Australians.

Anthony Albanese and Tony Burke have put out a statement on Clive James:

Clive James was a giant of Australian letters, and one of the greatest poets and intellectuals this country has ever produced.

Clive passed away at his home in the UK at the weekend after a long illness, aged 80.

The ‘Kid from Kogarah’ started his working life as an assistant editor at the Sydney Morning Herald before forging a 50-year career as a scholar, poet, lyricist, essayist, novelist, memoirist, critic and broadcaster.

At home and abroad, he entertained and moved readers and TV audiences with his profound and provocative insights, acerbic wit and boundless sense of humour.

‘Common sense and a sense of humour are the same thing, moving at different speeds,’ Clive once wrote. ‘A sense of humour is just common sense, dancing. Those who lack humour are without judgement and should be trusted with nothing.’

Despite all the impressive achievements that made him a household name in Australia and the UK, he never lost his connection to his working-class roots or his commitment to a ‘fair go for the workers’.

He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1992 and that was upgraded to Officer level in 2013. He was similarly honoured in the UK for his services to literature and the media.

As Clive once said: ‘Fiction is life with the dull bits left out’.

Clive’s life was certainly not dull – but the world without him is a less intelligent and less colourful place.

Vale Clive James.

Updated

This is now on its way to the Senate

Why we are all talking about Scott Morrison taking in Mick Fuller’s bins when they were Shire neighbours being a “joke” (which Ben Fordham also raised as a joke on his 2GB show yesterday), just a reminder that on 13 December last year, following the original bin revelation, was this conversation:

Ben Fordham: Because, once upon a time when you were neighbours, according to the commissioner, and I think this has been confirmed, you used to bring his bin in. When he’d leave the bin outside, the wheelie bin outside, and he was too lazy himself to bring it in, you would collect his bin and wheel it in for him. True or false?

PM: That’s what good neighbours do. That’s what they do. Mick is a great bloke and that’s the Shire way.

BF: How come you don’t do it anymore?

PM: Well, I don’t take the bins out anymore.

BF: Why?

PM: Because I haven’t even found where they are yet.

BF: Ah of course, at Kirribilli House.

PM: At my place, Jen would be home more often than not to take the bins out as I’d be travelling or something.

BF: Hang on, hang on, hang on. When you say my place, you mean our place?

PM: No, no, when I lived in the Shire.

BF: Oh OK, I’m just clarifying there.

PM: That’s very true Ben, and you’re right to point that out.

Often neighbours would do that for each other, mate. I think that’s done in most parts of the country and Mick’s a good bloke.

BF: Well if you really loved him you’d be driving from Kirribilli House back to the Shire just to make sure the bin was in.

PM: Fair point, I think that’s a fair point.

Updated

World Vision has brought three former Miss World Australias to parliament as part of its “peace pledge” initiative.

The women have been spotted in the Parliament House cafeteria, which we all call the trough – so, really, they have already gone above and beyond.

Taylah Cannon, Esma Voloder and Jenah Elliott. Thursday 28th November 2019. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Guardian Australia
Taylah Cannon, Esma Voloder and Jenah Elliott. Thursday 28th November 2019. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Guardian Australia Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

So Labor says that as Anthony Albanese stood up to move the motion to suspend standing orders to bring Scott Morrison into the chamber to apologise for attributing a Ben Fordham quote to a Victorian police officer, the government asked to pair Morrison.

Labor says it asked on what grounds, at which point the pair request was withdrawn.

Morrison did enter the chamber to vote against the Labor motion.

Updated

As my Oma used to say, ‘always look up’.

Updated

Question: Mick Fuller expects that the investigation, the strike force, will be wrapped up next week. Are you confident the investigation will be independent? And conducted thoroughly?

Anthony Albanese:

Well, look, I have – I have no reason to doubt the confidence of the New South Wales police force to conduct investigations. But the problem here is that the prime minister’s intervention will have members of the public thinking, well, if one of my mates has a police inquiry, can I pick up the phone to the police commissioner and ask about that inquiry?

That’s why the prime minister’s statement, that the inquiry wasn’t just whether there’s an inquiry or not, that release was out there.

And I note Commissioner Fuller also said he had at least four phone calls from the prime minister. Three missed calls from a mobile that he didn’t have before he eventually took the call.

Now, I have been a minister of the Crown. The normal processes are not a prime minister ringing on his mobile the head of a police commission.

What would happen would be advice would be got from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet about appropriateness of it.

You would have note-takers, you’d have – we asked yesterday in the parliament, would that information be released.

But, of course, as all of you who are involved in the right to know campaign, this government wants to operate in secret. How is it that that happens?

That isn’t the way phone calls happen, from the leader of a nation to the police commissioner about an investigation into one of his ministers. The way that it should happen, if it does at all, is through proper processes. It would appear that none of them were followed in this case, and that, I think, has the public scratching their heads.

Updated

Anthony Albanese:

Yesterday under some pressure he quoted – allegedly – a Victorian police detective, when it was, in fact, 2GB radio host Ben Fordham he was talking about, and hasn’t had the courage to come in and do the right thing and correct the record and apologise. What’s more, they have shut down debate.

I have been here a while under Prime Minister Howard, under Kevin Rudd, under Julia Gillard.

There were debates in the parliament. Indeed, under Tony Abbott. If Christopher Pyne was still the leader of the house there would have been debate about serious matters. You can’t hide from scrutiny. Parliament has a role.

Our current prime minister thinks he’s above scrutiny. Scrutiny from the media, scrutiny from the public, where when asked questions he says it is just gossip or it is just in the bubble. He doesn’t hold serious press conferences too often.

Today he actually put in a request for a pair – at 9:32 – to avoid going in and voting on it, something that was withdrawn some 10 minutes later.

For reasons that are beyond anyone’s comprehension ... Well, he can’t continue to duck and weave. He has to be held to account. And what Labor is trying to do in parliament is to do just that.

Updated

Albanese ramps up attack against the prime minister

Anthony Albanese has begun his press conference:

In attempting to defend a minister who has deliberately misled the parliament, the prime minister himself yesterday misled the parliament.

And he has not had the courage to do what other prime ministers, other ministers, have done, which is to go into the parliament and have the courtesy of advising the parliament of the mislead, and then apologise to the parliament.

That is the normal procedure that occurs. The letter to the clerk provision is for when parliament is not in session.

This morning the prime minister was prepared to enter the parliament to vote in gagging this debate, but wasn’t prepared to take that opportunity to correct the record and to treat the parliament with the respect that it deserves.

This mob say that they are conservatives. But the truth is they have shut down debate on 20 occasions this week.

They are not prepared to allow for a proper debate about the actions of an embattled minister, which arose from him being too smart by half, sending a letter on his letterhead, with his signature, to attack Clover Moore and her position on climate change.

That’s why this has arisen. This was raised more than 80 days ago. For 80 days this minister has refused to say where the document came from. Because we know it isn’t what he told the parliament.

We know it wasn’t downloaded from the City of Sydney website. And instead of him doing the right thing, fessing up early on, he’s just dug in and dug in and dug in, and sunk deeper and deeper.

We have a prime minister whose depth is a mile wide but an inch deep. He is incapable of acting in the national interests.

So, instead of standing aside the minister under section 7.1 of the ministerial code, he has continued to dig in, made a phone call, which on any assessment he then went into the parliament and said he’d discussed the substance of an investigation with the New South Wales police commissioner.

And yesterday implied in parliament again that not everyone has all the facts about that matter – this matter – and implied he had more facts about the investigation than what has been publicly released, in spite of the fact that the New South Wales police, as is normal practice, issued an immediate release about Strike Force Garrad and said they wouldn’t be making any further comment.

So we have a minister who’s embattled, we have a prime minister who has intervened directly by making that phone call into the investigation.

Updated

The Senate seems excited to be talking about something other than the ensuring integrity bill.

It’s moved on to its housekeeping section. But it will be back on the IR train soon enough.

Updated

The government has declined to table the legal advice it had on robodebt into the Senate.

From the Greens:

Using the excuse of ‘long-standing practice’ and ‘public interest immunity’ is not a legitimate reason to not provide this information which is in the public interest.

Clearly this government has something to hide. They continued with this draconian program long after the harrowing evidence of the Senate inquiry in 2017 and the recommendation that it be put on hold while issues of procedural fairness were dealt with and long after the major flaws with the income averaging process were identified.

We need to know when and for how long the government had information on the legality of robodebt.

The government is trying to evade responsibility for what they have done, years of trying to scrape savings from people on the lowest income in our community and the government have been caught out.

Updated

At this stage, Westpac is not being recalled to front the economics committee – but Apra will be appearing, as scheduled on Monday.

From the committee:

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) will appear before the House Economics Committee at a public hearing on Monday, 2 December 2019, as part of its review of the 2019 APRA Annual Report.

Chair, Mr Tim Wilson MP, noted that ‘APRA appeared at a public hearing in August this year; however, the committee determined that additional information and questioning was required to properly scrutinise APRA’.

‘The hearing will provide the committee with the opportunity to further question APRA on its performance and operation and, in particular, how it is implementing the recommendations of the Hayne Royal Commission and the APRA capability review.’

Mr Wilson said ‘a common theme across the Royal Commission and capability review reports was that APRA is a strong regulator in the area of traditional financial risk, but that more work needs to be done to ensure APRA is prepared to respond to future challenges, particularly in relation to non-financial risk’.

Mr Wilson added ‘the committee will scrutinise APRA on how it promotes financial stability through the prudential regulation and supervision of Authorised Deposit taking Institutions, insurers and superannuation licensees, and other related issues.’

Updated

Anthony Albanese and Mark Butler have called a press conference for 11.30 in the opposition leader’s courtyard.

I wonder what on earth it could be about.

Updated

Peter Khalil wants you all to know he pulled a hamstring and that is why he missed the division.

Could this have had anything to do with Peter Khalil coming up short in the division run this morning?

Labor’s Peter Khalil extends
Labor’s Peter Khalil extends. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

These MPs lead the national security conversations when it comes to parliamentary committees. So when they get together, it always raises a bit of “what’s going on” interest.

A quick meeting of the Joint standing committee on intelligence and security, Chair Andrew Hastie, deputy Anthony Byrne and member Mark Dreyfus in the house of representatives
A quick meeting of the joint standing committee on intelligence and security, chair Andrew Hastie, deputy Anthony Byrne and member Mark Dreyfus in the House of Representatives. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

You might remember a little earlier this week Josh Frydenberg said the government would introduce two new bills in response to the banking royal commission recommendations. He has just released a bit more information on what those bills are:

The financial sector reform (Hayne royal commission response – protecting consumers (2019 measures) bill 2019 addresses four recommendations from the Hayne royal commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry including:

Recommendations 1.2 and 1.3 – requiring mortgage brokers to act in the best interests of consumers when providing consumer credit assistance; reforming mortgage broker remuneration by requiring the value of upfront commissions to be linked to the amount drawn down by borrowers instead of the loan amount; banning campaign and volume-based commissions and payments; and capping soft dollar benefits. These measures will apply from 1 July 2020.

Recommendation 4.2 – ensuring that the consumer protection provisions of the financial services law apply to funeral expenses policies.

• Recommendation 4.7 – banning unfair contract terms in standard insurance contracts. This will apply from 5 April 2021 which is consistent with the commencement of the design and distribution obligations.

The government will also introduce the financial sector reform (Hayne royal commission response – stronger regulators (2019 measures) bill 2019. The bill implements a further four additional commitments the government announced at the time of responding to the royal commission and will ensure that Asiccan effectively enforce existing laws.

Updated

How Mike Bowers saw the divisions in the house this morning:

Anthony Albanese moves a motion to suspend standing orders
Anthony Albanese moves a motion to suspend standing orders. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Prime minister Scott Morrison and Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton
Prime minister Scott Morrison and home affairs minister Peter Dutton. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Prime minister Scott Morrison and minister for emissions reduction Angus Taylor leave the house of representatives
Prime minister Scott Morrison and minister for emissions reduction Angus Taylor leave the House of Representatives. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

From Peter Dutton’s office:

The Australian government has declared three terrorist attacks for the purposes of the Australian victim of terrorism overseas payment (AVTOP) scheme.

The 15 March 2019 attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand; the 15-16 January 2019 attack in Nairobi, Kenya; and the 8 May 2002 attack in Karachi, Pakistan, have been declared as “terrorist acts” under the scheme.

On 15 March 2019, a single perpetrator conducted consecutive mass shootings at the al‑Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attack killed 51 people and another 49 people were injured.

From 15-16 January 2019, five perpetrators conducted a complex attack on the dusitD2 hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya. The attack killed 21 people and another 28 were injured.

On 8 May 2002, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device was detonated outside the Sheraton Hotel in Karachi, Pakistan. The attack killed 15 people and another 40 people were injured.

The Australian government condemns the attacks and extends its deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those killed and injured, and to the governments and people of New Zealand, Kenya and Pakistan.

The declaration of these attacks means that eligible Australians who were harmed, or lost a close family member, as a result of the attacks may seek a one-off payment of up to $75,000 in financial assistance.

The AVTOP scheme ensures Australian victims of terrorist events overseas have access to financial support. The declaration of these attacks brings the total number of overseas terrorist acts declared by the Australian government for the purposes of the AVTOP scheme to 45.

Information on declared attacks and how to apply for financial assistance through the AVTOP scheme is available here or by calling 1800 040 226.

Updated

The Senate is finishing up its divisions on the ensuring integrity bill. That’s brought on the second reading debate, where we go into the amendments.

We’ll be in amendment hell until about 11.45am. Then it’s usual Senate business for a bit, and then straight back into the IR bill. The only thing that will interrupt it then, is question time.

Then more amendments, and then once that is done, we hit 4.30pm when the final votes begin and then boom - it will be the third reading debate and it’s done.

Honestly, with John Alexander on the pollies team, this is never a fair contest

Pollies VS Press tennis comp.
Pollies v Press tennis comp. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Wrong sport, mate
Wrong sport, mate Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

Peter Dutton was on Sydney radio 2GB this morning – he said he can’t comment on Jacqui Lambie’s condition to vote for the repeal.

“I think Jacqui can support the bill,” Dutton said.

Updated

Anthony Albanese says Labor would give leave for the prime minister to approach the despatch box “given he is here” and “say sorry”.

Surprisingly, Scott Morrison does not take him up on the offer

The divisions end, as expected.

Numbers don’t lie - except when you use the wrong ones.

Meanwhile

And the third division is brought on.

The gag motion wins 73 to 66

We move onto the next division to gag Mark Butler.

Scott Morrison has walked into the chamber to cheers from Labor.

While we wait for the divisions to come to their inevitable conclusions (remember, it is a numbers game. And you don’t even need to have passed primary school maths to work that out) we have an Adani update:

Regional Queensland has been handed another major win on the Carmichael project today when Toowoomba-based company Wagners was announced as the lead contractor delivering a $35m+ quarry operations package.

The contract will see Wagners build and operate the quarry, which will be located about 160km outside Clermont, and deliver quarry materials for supporting infrastructure on the Carmichael mine and rail projects, such as roads, camps, pads, dams and mine civil works.

Updated

So Labor’s attack has moved from Angus Taylor to the prime minister misleading parliament.

Morrison did table a letter. But Labor wants the images of him saying he was wrong.

There won’t be enough coffee in the world for today.

Christian Porter moves to gag the debate – and to the divisions we go.

Updated

Anthony Albanese just had to shush his own side, after he gets up to object to Christian Porter speaking to a motion which has not been allowed.

If that gives you some indication of the mood in this place today.

Porter looks a little stressed. This is not the week he wanted to have – especially when he is just about to get a win in the Senate that his colleagues had previously failed to negotiate.

Updated

The motion:

I seek leave to move the following motion —

That the House:

  1. notes that:
  1. in attempting to defend a minister who has deliberately misled the parliament, the prime minister misled the parliament;
  1. yesterday in question time, the prime minister told the House that in March 2013, a then detective in Victoria police’s fraud squad, Ross Mitchell, made a statement about former prime minister Julia Gillard;
  1. that statement was made word for word by radio host Ben Fordham – a fact which was clear from the Australian newspaper article dated 27 April 2013 by Hedley Thomas which reports that statement;
  1. late yesterday, the prime minister admitted that he had misled the parliament but despite House of Representatives practice being clear that a misleading of parliament can be corrected by either making a statement to the House or writing to the Clerk of the House, the prime minister instead directed that a letter to the Speaker be tabled by another minister; and
  1. the prime minister has refused repeated calls from the leader of the opposition to attend the House at 9.30am today to correct the record in the form demanded by the House; and
  1. therefore, the House calls on the prime minister to do what is required by both House of Representatives practice and his own ministerial standards and immediately attend the chamber to correct his misleading statement.

Updated

Scott Morrison tabled a letter correcting the record yesterday. He had been paired because he had a matter outside of Canberra.

Labor wants him to come into the chamber and do it verbally.

Christian Porter is trying to shut it down.

Anthony Albanese is in the House moving to suspend standing orders to bring Scott Morrison back into the chamber to correct his mistake from yesterday.

Meanwhile in the Senate, it is all all ensuring integrity.

Mathias Cormann is moving to suspend standing orders to bring on the IR bill.

Labor is going to be pissed, but there is nothing they can do about it - the crossbench is on board this time.

The bells are ringing.

So it begins.

Anthony Albanese was also asked about whether or not Labor would support the New Zealand option, if that is indeed what Jacqui Lambie’s condition to repeal medevac is:

AA: Labor has been saying for a very long time that Australia should have accepted the offer from New Zealand originally made with John Key’s government and when prime minister Gillard began those discussions. Since then, prime minister Key made it very clear, as did his two successors, including prime minister Ardern. The government needs to, once again, needs to have an outcome focus here. They’re all interested in the politics and in conflict. They need to be concerned about an outcome. They haven’t been. And it’s not surprising that the crossbenchers would have a look at what the government’s rhetoric was, about what would happen if medevac was introduced and what has actually happened.

Q: Would that deal make the legislation more palatable for Labor?

AA: Well, we think that medevac is working. And we think that the government, if it wants to resolve the issue, we think that it needs to work out third-party settlement options. There’s one that has very clearly been available for some time, in New Zealand. And that would resolve the issue because no one would need to be transferred to anywhere from Nauru or Manus because there wouldn’t be people on there. Thanks very much.

Updated

The Australian Council of Social Services is releasing a survey today, showing the impact of the low rate of Newstart on younger people:

The National Union of Students, YOUNG Campaigns, and the Australian Council of Social Service, will today launch a joint report exposing the alarming rates of deprivation among young people currently receiving Youth Allowance and Newstart.

The report is the result of a survey 892 people aged between 16-30 who are currently receiving an allowance.

Key findings from the survey include:

- over 60% of respondents have less than $14 a day left after paying their rent,

- over half have couched-surfed or used other unstable forms of accommodation,

- more than 9 in 10 skip meals

- more than 1 in 3 have withdrawn from their studies because of a lack of funds

That will be around 11am

And a recap of the whole Angus Taylor day, yesterday, from Katharine Murphy:

Scott Morrison has rebuffed an invitation by Labor to release any officials’ notes of his conversation with the New South Wales police commissioner Mick Fuller, and insisted there was nothing inappropriate about approaching the police chief while he was investigating the conduct of one of his ministers, Angus Taylor.

Morrison mocked Labor for pursuing the propriety of the call in question time on Wednesday, declaring no objections were raised by the opposition on Tuesday when he flagged his plan to make contact with Fuller. The prime minister also accused Labor of double standards, declaring both Julia Gillard and Bill Shorten faced police probes and did not vacate their posts.

But Morrison ran into trouble later on Wednesday when it emerged he had misled the House by incorrectly attributing a comment about the historical police investigation into Gillard to the detective handling her matter, when the comment had been made by Sydney talkback radio host Ben Fordham.

Updated

This quote from the NSW police commissioner, Mick Fuller, which was mentioned by Scott Morrison in question time yesterday, is also raising some eyebrows.

Fuller said he expected the Angus Taylor investigation to be wrapped up quickly:

I just gave him an assurance that we would move the matter as quickly as possible and I didn’t say that was because of any particular person.

To be honest with you, these types of investigations can consume an enormous amount of resources from New South Wales police and they area great diverter of my time.

There is a whole range of reasons why I want the matter finished quickly but professionally and many of those are selfish.

Updated

Labor will move to suspend standing orders at the start of parliament – Anthony Albanese said yesterday he wanted Scott Morrison to front the parliament to correct the record, rather than just send in the letter and, well, we know how that will end.

So I would say the smart money would be on an immediate suspension.

Updated

Anthony Albanese:

Well, what’s extraordinary is that the prime minister uses a 2GB presenter’s comments, purportedly to be from a Victorian detective, against former prime minister Julia Gillard.

What should have occurred here is that minister Taylor’s position is, quite frankly, untenable in terms of the deliberate mislead of the parliament.

What Westminster requires – and these people are supposed to be conservatives, they’re supposed to respect tradition – the fact is that you mislead parliament when you’re a minister, you end your ministerial career.

That’s what should happen here. We now have a police investigation. There are three issues, potential breaches, here, two of which are punishable by 10 years in prison.

Updated

Anthony Albanese has stopped by doors – which is something he does when he feels like he has something to say to kick the day off. It is unusual for the leader to drop by doors (named because they are tiny press conferences held as the MPs enter the building – but because there are so many ways to enter the building, including ways where you don’t have to go through the doors and can avoid the media if you so wish. So if an MP wanders past the doors, it is because they have something to say publicly).

It’s about Angus Taylor, because of course it is.

The prime minister should this morning at 9.30 come into the parliament, correct the record in person, and apologise for misleading parliament yesterday, when instead of the quote that he used allegedly from a Victorian detective, it was actually from a 2GB presenter.

An extraordinary error in a pre-prepared answer, word for word, extensive quotes used to attack former prime minister Julia Gillard.

It just shows yet again the lack of judgment that’s been on display for all to see from this prime minister when placed under pressure.

This is a prime minister who doesn’t want scrutiny from the media. He doesn’t want scrutiny from the parliament. He thinks that he can just bluff his way through everything, shutting down debate, as he has done consistently. And remember where this began.

This began with a minister in the third scandal in which he’s been involved in just this year, saying that in a letter to Clover Moore that there had been $15m of travel, $14m from her and her fellow councillors on the Sydney city council, with the documentation that we know wasn’t downloaded from the City of Sydney website, even though that is what he said to parliament.

On Monday he repeated that in a letter that he tabled. A deliberate mislead, which is ongoing.

This minister has had over 80 days now to actually say who gave this document, how was it formed, how is it that he came to refer to it in the letter to Clover Moore. And yet we’ve seen no explanation, just an attempt to cover up, dismiss.

And now we have a prime minister ringing the New South Wales police commissioner on the very day that the investigation, Strike Force Garrad, was launched.

And in circumstances whereby, in the media release, they said, “No further comments would be made about the strike force,” and yet the prime minister told parliament that he discussed the substance of the investigation with the New South Wales police commissioner.

And there’s a big gap between what the New South Wales police commissioner is saying happened with that conversation and what the prime minister told parliament.

Updated

Jacqui Lambie is still not confirming anything about what her “one condition” is.

Updated

Rebekha Sharkie on RN:

I think that in this case, given that on Monday, members of the parliament asked for Angus Taylor to speak to the parliament about what he knows about the the actual document and the document that he referred to in his letter to Clover Moore and to detail to the the parliament the circumstances around how he obtained that document. Angus Tyler did not accept that request. And now we’ve come to a point where we understand the conversations been had between the prime minister and the police commissioner on the day that an investigation was announced …

I think if the prime minister releases his transcript that will certainly shed some light on the conversation. If the if the conversation is as the prime minister says, which I’m sure it is, it would would then provide that clarity and that confidence needed within the parliament.

Updated

The Centre Alliance lower house MP, Rebekha Sharkie, is speaking to ABC radio about how the Angus Taylor saga is just further proof that Australia needs a federal Icac.

She also wants the prime minister to release his transcript of his phone call with the NSW police commissioner, Mick Fuller, to put to bed any lingering questions.


Updated

Christopher Knaus spoke to David Ipp about Scott Morrison’s phone call to Mick Fuller:

Former anti-corruption commissioner and senior judge David Ipp says Scott Morrison’s phone call to the New South Wales police chief appears to be an inappropriate attempt to use his position to make a political decision.

Ipp, who served on the NSW court of appeal and as an Independent Commission Against Corruption commissioner, said the call was clearly not appropriate. He said it appears to have been made to aid Morrison’s party-political decision making, rather than the interest of the state.

“An ordinary citizen would not be able to get that information from the police … so what is it about the prime minister that entitles him to that information?” Ipp told Guardian Australia.

Updated

The ensuring integrity bill didn’t pass last night because there are a truckload of amendments that need to go through, but it will.

Pretty much every single Labor senator has something to say about it, with the opposition pointing to repealing it if it wins the next election.

But One Nation and Centre Alliance are on board, and that is enough.

Updated

Good morning

We enter the fifth last sitting day of the year still talking about Angus Taylor, with a big dose of Scott Morrison as well. The prime minister was forced to correct the record after attributing a 2GB Sydney radio host Ben Fordham quote to Victorian police during question time yesterday.

Morrison had said that a Victorian detective had said Julia Gillard “is under investigation by police, this is a fact” in 2013 as part of a defence arguing that Labor ministers had not stepped aside during police investigations. But after reporting from the Australian, which showed the quote was actually from Fordham talking about the issue during a radio broadcast, Morrison was forced to write to the Speaker and admit his mistake.

Labor is not letting it go. The government is still trying to talk about the economy but it has lost the entire week to this, with each press conference and question time taken up with defending Taylor.

Morrison’s judgment, in making a phone call to NSW police commissioner, Mick Fuller, about the investigation has also pulled the prime minister into the saga. Both Fuller and Morrison say there was nothing untoward about the call, and that Morrison had received information which was already available in the public domain. But a political leader calling a police commissioner about an investigation into one of his MPs is not a great look, and the defence – I told you I was going to do it – isn’t helping matters.

Labor wants the phone call documents. That’ll drag on throughout today.

There are also the negotiations over medevac. Jacqui Lambie said she would vote for the repeal on one condition but won’t say what the condition is. The government knows but the public doesn’t. Nine newspapers are reporting it is the government accepting the New Zealand offer to resettle some of the Manus Island and Nauru asylum seekers. We couldn’t confirm that yesterday, with nothing ruled in or out.

We’ll have all of the ongoing shenanigans and whatever else happens in this increasingly insane place. Mike Bowers, Katharine Murphy, Sarah Martin and Paul Karp are with you. I’ve had three coffees and am looking for my fourth.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.

Updated

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Emily in Paris star Lily Collins set to play Audrey Hepburn in film about Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Film to cover the turbulent making of the 1961 classic
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
A rush of blood to the penis – and vaginal tenting: what happens to our bodies when we get turned on
Arousal may be spontaneous, or arise in response to sensory stimulation, memory, fantasy or emotional connection. Understanding the difference can help us have better sexual experiences
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Liza Minnelli says ‘fuming’ mom Judy Garland tried to kick her offstage during joint performance
The mother-daughter duo performed at the London Palladium in 1964
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Bonnie Blue's 'Pregnancy' Mission a Success? Fans Aren't Buying the Baby Announcement Says 'It Screams Fake'
The announcement came roughly two weeks after her 'breeding' challenge, during which she claimed to have had unprotected sex with around 400 men.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Kelly Osbourne slams 'disgusting' body shamer after troll likens her look to 'dead body'
TV personality Kelly Osbourne has slammed a "disgusting" body shamer, after a troll claimed she was "too thin and fragile" and likened her look to "a dead body".
BANG Premier
BANG Premier
3 Dangerous Foods You Should Never Feed Your Cat
1. Onions and Garlic Onions, garlic, chives, leeks, and other members of the allium family are extremely toxic to cats. Even very small amounts whether raw cooked dried or powdered can damage your cat’s red blood cells and potentially lead to a dangerous condition called anemia. The scary part? Toxicity…
Times Pets
Times Pets
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play