Labor allows encryption laws to pass Senate after lower house adjourned early – as it happened

Morry Bailes, the president of the Law Council of Australia:

The half-amended encryption access laws rammed through the Senate are better than the original, but serious concerns remain.

“We now have a situation where unprecedented powers to access encrypted communications are now law, even though parliament knows serious problems exist.

“This is what happens when you compromise a committee process and allow the work of parliament to be rushed and politicised.

“Next year, as well as passing the remaining amendments, the intelligence and security committee needs to be brought back into the frame to get these laws right.

“The committee can ensure there are no unintended consequences, which could be to the detriment of us all.

“We support the object of these laws in order to keep us safe, but we cannot weaken the rule of law in the process.”

Christian Porter:

Australia is a safer place as a result of the passage of the encryption laws in the Senate tonight.

“This ensures that our national security and law enforcement agencies have the modern tools they need, with appropriate authority and oversight, to access the encrypted conversations of those who seek to do us harm.

“Labor’s decision is, finally, a sensible one that puts the safety of Australians above political point-scoring.

“To ensure the passage of the bill through the Senate tonight, the government has agreed to consider Labor’s proposed amendments in the new year if any genuinely reflect the recommendations of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security.”

And the final motion, as moved by Mathias Cormann:

I move the second reading amendment that has been circulated in my name which has the effect of referring the amendments to be made by this bill to the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security to conduct a review of the operation of the amendments made by this bill and report on that review by 3 April 2019.

I also confirm that the government has agreed to facilitate consideration of these amendments in the new year in government business time, and I finally, also, confirm that the government supports in principle all amendments that are consistent with the recommendations of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security recommendations in relation to this bill.

How the final vote played out.

Right, I am going to leave reading the comments for a small moment because it has been a long day on top of a long week and a long year. But I will just say that reporting facts is not bias.

Labor did give the government what it wanted. You may not agree with the whys and hows, but the government called Labor’s bluff on leaving parliament with the encryption laws unpassed until February, and Labor blinked.

You can decide for yourselves why.

And it still stands that the government was prepared to leave the parliament sitting with the encryption laws they have been banging on about as being absolutely crucial to national security for the past month, un-passed, because it didn’t want to deal with the medical evacuation bill loss.

Neither party has covered itself in glory today.

The Senate adjourns until midday on 12 February.

It’s Labor and the government on one side and the Greens, Centre Alliance and Tim Storer on the other.

Labor and the government prevail and the bill goes to what looks like if not the final than one of the final divisions.

Mathias Cormann has stepped in to try and stop the Greens from moving the amendments.

The chamber divides.

It’s Labor and the government voting against it.

Oh, it looks like the Greens are trying to move Labor’s amendments, and force them to vote against them.

And with a “thanks everyone that has been 12 very good questions,” Bill Shorten leaves the press conference, as they are still being asked.

If the government won’t agree to put the amendments through, Labor will still pass it.

Meanwhile, the Senate division bells are ringing.

This bill will be passed, despite Labor’s reservations, and made law pretty much immediately. Meaning security agencies can let loose with its notices to break encrypted communications.

“I want to make sure that this Christmas, that I have done everything I can to keep Australians safe...that is what matters to me,” Bill Shorten says.

“In good conscience, I am not going to go home when I know we can make Australia safer.”

So having lost the game of political chicken, Labor is now rolling over and giving the government what it originally wanted.

“This is not a game, what I don’t like is the government went home. I can’t make the government do its day job,” Shorten says, saying the government was “too scared” to turn up to parliament.

“Merely because these people have done the wrong thing for kids on Nauru … [do I just give up when I know I can make Australians safer]?

Labor is announcing this decision to the government through this press conference.

“We’re announcing it through you,” he says.

“We offer to let it go forward, without the amendments which are needed … provided the government agrees on the very first sitting day, to pass the amendments we say are needed.”

So Labor will pass the bill, unamended on the proviso the government allows the amendments to go through in February.

But for two months those “needed” amendments will not be part of the legislation.

Not exactly the greatest pobedobesie I’ve ever seen.

Bill Shorten says Labor is prepared to be the “adult in the room” and let the encryption bill pass as it stands now.

“I couldn’t go home and leave Australians over Christmas without some of the protections that we all agree are necessary.”

Bill Shorten has begun his press conference.

He said Labor has been put in an “invidious” position with the encryption laws.

This morning v this evening.

Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick told Guardian Australia his party supports Labor’s amendments to the encryption bill.

Several crossbench parties suspect that Labor is now not going to move its own amendments so the encryption bill will pass this year.

Curiously, Bill Shorten and Mark Dreyfus have called a press conference … Let’s see if that’s what they’re going to announce.

Peter Dutton has popped up from his medical leave:

He’s away from parliament this week, under medical advice. I made this joke already this week, but that would be the home affairs minister accepting medical advice without the intervention of the federal court.

Bill Shorten and Mark Dreyfus have called a press conference for 6.40pm.

Anyone in Canberra next week, who still wants to talk Canberra, is welcome to come along to this:

The Senate has extended its debate until 7pm.

We are waiting to see if the Greens support any of Labor’s amendments to the encryption bill. If all the amendments fail, the legislation becomes law, without having to return to the House.

If even one amendment gets up, then it has to go back to the House, in February, to be properly ticked off on.

I just noticed there were some queries about the “blood on their hands” question in the Porter press conference. Stand down. The question was about the clear imputation some government MPs were making about the encryption bill delay, after Labor amended it in the Senate, meaning it may not pass, and the reporter was just asking to get a reaction from the AG.

How Mike Bowers (with an assist from Lyndal Curtis) saw the afternoon:

Bill Shorten’s adjournment speech was also on this issue:

I don’t normally take the adjournment but today Australians deserve an explanation.

They deserve an explanation why this government, which lurches from “crisis to crisis, embarrassment piled on embarrassment, week after week,” Australians deserve to know why they don’t have national security encryption legislation, why the kids are still on Nauru and why their power prices are still going up.

This government has said that these are very important issues, in particular, national security.

At the beginning of this week they threatened Labor and said: “You must not stand in the way of encryption legislation.”

And indeed, earlier on the 22nd of November, the current prime minister said about encryption legislation, and I quote:

“Our police, our agencies need these powers now. I would like to see them passed, in fact I would insist on seeing them passed before the end of the next sitting fortnight.”

But I regret to advise the Australian people that we’ve arrived at the end of the sitting fortnight, there is legislation passed and amended in the Senate which then comes back to the House of Representatives to be finalised.

It has ever been thus in the Australian parliamentary system. The House of Reps, or the Senate, amend laws and the other house then considers them.

Now what happened is this government rushed a set of encryption laws which were just frankly, botched. This opposition absolutely worked to get agreement to repair them as best we can, and this morning the government gave us 170 amendments on vital legislation to do with digital privacy, tracking down terrorists and criminals, security, economics.

And Labor in the parliament, and the crossbench, have considered 170 amendments and ratified them in the Senate in the last hour.

But apparently, this Christmas, when it was so vital to have national security laws, the government now say: “Five o’clock, time to go home. We will worry about national security next year.”

Shame, shame, shame.

You use national security as a stick to try and score a political angle, Labor looks at national security and says how do we work together to make Australians safe?

And what has happened is these laws are ready to be passed right now. And every year past when the parliament has laws which arrived late, because the parliament was scheduled to finish at five o’clock for the year, we sit later.

Both political parties tell their members of parliament, don’t book your flights, don’t make commitments in the electorates tomorrow.

Because a tried and true system of government under John Howard and Bob Hawke and even Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull was that if you have laws which need to be passed, and the government has made the case they need to be passed, you stay and do the job. You don’t go home.

But under this government, apparently national security is only national security till five o’clock on a Thursday.

Because the bad guys don’t worry about our national security, they will stop at five o’clock.

We have got a work-to-rule government who is divided and the real reason why we’re not dealing with these laws is because the parliament is expressing the will, in addition to the proper scrutiny of laws.

We want to see the kids off Nauru, kids who need medical treatment where the treating medicos say they should be done. We simply say, they should get that treatment and the decision-making should be transparent and accountable.

But this is where we now find out the real priorities of this ideologically bankrupt, this morally abject failing government. They are more keen to be seen to maintain their political pride than either protect Australians or get kids off Nauru or even deal with lower energy prices.

This is a government who are so consumed by their own pride, they have been divided all this year, they got rid of their sitting prime minister, they lost an electorate, and lost some of the members of parliament for whom they have relied on.

They bullied the member for Banks out of the Liberal party and because of their own internal discord, they are now concerned that children might be able to have a transparent process to receive the medical treatment they deserve.

But this is a government who says national security is number one, unless it’s Prime Minister Morrison’s pride, because then national security is number two.

It says the safety of children is number one, unless the pride of Prime Minister Morrison is in danger, then that comes first.

This government should be ashamed of itself. It has put its own pride, its own political bacon, ahead of the children on Nauru, ahead of national security and the people of Australia.

Right, now that I have had my eighth coffee for the day (a new record) and a read of all the things which have happened, let’s recap.

The government chose to shut down parliament, rather than risk the medical evacuations bill passing against its will.

But.

Parliament resumes in February. 12 February, to be exact. Where it will face the exact same issue.

And a legislative loss on the floor is still a legislative loss on the floor.

And another reader standout (this was technically last year, but I will allow it)

Michael: “My standout moment for this year was when the equal marriage legislation finally passed the House, the public gallery erupting with ‘We are many but we are one; we are Australian’. This year, leadership and healing has come from the Australian people, not from the parliament. I trust our people, not our current lot of politicians.”

On the energy debate, Labor has managed to get to Bob Katter:

To prevent state-owned energy asset privatisation KAP federal leader and member for Kennedy Bob Katter today circulated an amendment to the Treasury laws amendment (prohibiting energy market misconduct) bill 2018 (the divestment bill) which ensures government-owned electricity assets cannot be privatised, forbidding the sale of any electricity assets to anyone except another state or commonwealth owned utility. George Christensen MP agreed to second this amendment.

Mr Katter said this has opened the way for a protected path to “cost only” electricity, as it used to be before privatisation took over the industry.

“Negotiations with the Treasurer has resulted in the government enthusiastically embracing protection from state-owned asset privatisation. For the first time ever, no privatisation is possible as a result of the amendment.

“When the governments of Australia agreed to privatisation and deregulation, within a short few years, effectively four people owned the entire electricity industry of Australia (China’s ownership appears to be between 35% and 62%) with only four people controlling the market they don’t compete against each other – they compete with each other.

“So while it may have touched off a race to the bottom for their employees’ pay, it also touched off a race to the top for their profiteering and CEO salaries. The price of electricity had remained at $670pa per household for 11 years. By 2002 privatisation (or corporatisation) was completed and over the next 11 years the price exploded from around $700 to $2,400 per household. The old saying is free markets mean ‘free to mark-it up to whatever you feel like’.

“I thank the treasurer and I thank George Christensen for playing a key role in this amendment. We wish the government well in their endeavours to create a proper competitive market place. There needs to be 12 or 15 competitors in each of the three components of the industry – generation, transmission and reticulation. I doubt if the government will be able to achieve this, but at least they’re trying, the government must be applauded for showing some real sanity, living in the real world instead of the fantasy land of free market ideology.

“The KAP political party I belong to is determined to seize the balance of power, and all profit and so called ‘returns on invested capital’ will be abolished, price of electricity will go back to where it’s always been – operating costs, maintenance and replacement. This was a system for 90 years in Qld that gave us the cheapest electricity prices in the world and we are determined that we will be returning to those prices.”

The divestment bill and Mr Katter’s amendment protecting state-owned assets from privatisation will be debated when parliament returns in the new year.

And just in case he wasn’t clear in the press conference, Christian Porter has released his statement on the clusterfuckery that was today:

Bill Shorten has chosen political game-playing over the safety of the Australian people.

Labor’s decision to break its agreement with me to ensure the passage of the encryption legislation this week means Australians won’t have the safety afforded by giving national law enforcement and police the ability to access the encrypted communications of those who seek to do us harm.

Labor chose politics over giving our police and security agencies the tools they need to prevent terrorist attacks.

Labor chose politics over giving our police and security agencies the tools they need to break up paedophile rings.

Labor chose politics over giving our police and security agencies the tools they need to prevent murders.

Labor chose politics over giving our police and security agencies the tools they need to disrupt the drug rings that finance terrorism.

Labor has ignored the advice and evidence to the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security from organisations like Asio, which told the committee the legislation was urgent in order to keep Australians safe from terrorists, particularly over the Christmas period when the risk is higher.

And Labor’s done this to try to create a procedural disadvantage for the government that would have completely undermined our borders and risk reopening Australia to people smugglers and a repeat of the tragic deaths at sea that we saw under the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd era.

Australia’s security agencies and law enforcement at both the state and territory level enjoy the strong support of the Australian people.

The Australian people take notice when those agencies tell us, the law-makers, that they need modernised laws to be in the game against serious crime.

Unfortunately, Bill Shorten doesn’t seem to share that trust in our security and law enforcement agencies.

Shadow attorney general Mark Dreyfus is today using the fig leaf of an absolutely wrong assertion that there has been some non-compliance by the government with PJCIS recommendations.

We can only hope that over the coming Christmas season, Mr Shorten will reflect on whether in 2018 and the terror threats we face, the political point-scoring in this most important of parliamentary weeks, was worth it.

Gareth Hutchens (making up for not getting me lunch) has stayed back to transcribe Christian Porter’s press conference for you:

Reporter: Labor says that the reason they’ve had to try to move amendments in the Senate is that your amendments didn’t match all the recommendations from the PJCIS. What do you say to that?

Porter:

I say that is a ploy, it is a dressed-up excuse, it is a fig leaf over what we all know here was a tactical arrangement to try and embarrass the government over the Nauru legislation.

That’s what this was about. They had to say something, right? That was the best they could come up with.

Reporter: If there is a terrorist attack over summer, will Bill Shorten have blood on his hands?

Porter:

I’ll let you commentate. We had a deal to pass legislation, which was sensibly amended through a grinding committee process that would have made Australians safer and, ultimately, party politics from Bill Shorten and political strategy has meant that that bill, contrary to their promise, will not become law in time for its use by our intelligence and law enforcement agencies, state and federal, over this summer.

And I say, I am just bitterly disappointed for the Australian people and I have never myself felt so personally disappointed at the breaking of an arrangement that was quite clear.

Reporter: If it’s that vital, Christopher Pyne could keep the House going, couldn’t he?

Porter:

Well that would be doing exactly what Labor wants, which is bringing back a bill on Nauru to embarrass the government potentially, and undermine our border protection policy. So they’re making a price to be paid, which is unbelievably high. They are sacrificing one piece of national security legislation in the process of trying to damage another fundamental tenant of our border security.

Of course we wouldn’t do that. And that’s why I’m so bitterly disappointed for the Australian people because if Labor were willing to break a deal that would have given them greater protection to try and score a political point. I am savagely disappointed.

Reporter: But on your logic there, are you saying that it’s more important that the government’s not embarrassed or that these laws are not passed?

Porter:

I am saying, as we have said all day, what is fundamental is that the government’s border protection policy, which relies on offshore processing is not undermined, which there would be a very large chance that it could be undermined if the bill that Labor wanted to have back in the House came back to the House.

Reporter: Can you explain why that’s the case, the minister would still have ultimate authority, wouldn’t they, under these changes?

Porter:

Well as we said in the House today, it’s already the case that an appropriate and necessary circumstance is we medically transfer people from Nauru. We do that already. But the bill up there [in the Senate] takes the minister’s discretion down to nothing and sends the message to people smugglers that there is a process way out of the hands of the government to ensure arrival and entry to Australia.

Reporter: Does it send that message because the prime minister said today that it [in is] people smugglers’ [interest?]. Hasn’t the government sent that message?

Porter:

Well let me put this to you. You’re asking what is different to what’s being proposed up there [in the Senate] to what happens now. We already medically transfer. But there is a difference, which is why it is being moved there, because it’s not precisely the same.

It compels the government into a position and that means that there’s a fundamental weakening of one of three critical planks to our border protection and border control policy, which is offshore processing.

I’ll just say again. We are not going to let the border control of this nation be destroyed by a private member’s bill.

Reporter: Have you seen these extra amendments that Labor’s put up?

Porter:

I haven’t. And you would have thought, if there was something real here, if it’s something that they actually thought needed changed, then they might have sent those amendments around to my office. As we have done with them, courteously over the last 48 hours. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Reporter: Doesn’t this prove that the government has lost control of the House?

Porter:

Not at all. I mean, had the agreement been honoured by Labor, Australians would have been protected with a new landmark scheme that allows law enforcement agencies to have the types of authority that they need to protect Australians. The reason why there’s dysfunction here is because the Labor party, in their attempt to embarrass the government, broke a deal, and all they’ve done is make for an unsafer Australia and embarrass themselves.

Thank you.

Kerryn Phelps talking to Sky:

“I am sad that we didn’t get this through today, because I think we would have had the numbers … but we will be back in February, so there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

There were 28 divisions in the Senate all up today.

On the 17 March 2016, there were 38 divisions, but that day was suspended and continued the next day.

Labor will continue to move its amendments in the Senate on the encryption bill, despite the House having adjourned, meaning it can not be passed.

A spokesman for BuzzFeed has responded to Emma Husar’s statement:

“We’re aware that proceedings have been issued. We’re considering our position with our lawyers and will respond in due course.”

The medical transfer bill has passed the Senate 31-28.

A bit of an anticlimax after a three-hour filibuster, but the heat had gone out of it after the House adjourned.

We’re now onto the encryption bill.

Christian Porter said he is “bitterly disappointed” that Labor has played “tactical games” to stop the encryption legislation.

The government could have extended the parliament sitting to ensure it passed.

The only reason, the absolute only reason, parliament is not extended, is because the government did not want the medical evacuation bill to come to the House for a vote, where it would have passed.

The government says it does not want it passed because it would threaten national security.

But it has been almost 90 years since a government lost a legislative vote and the n, the Stanley Bruce government called an election the next day.

Christian Porter looks like a broken man. Like, Mathias Cormann after the leadership spill broken.

He is blaming Labor for the encryption bill not making it back to the House to be legislated.

Bill Shorten has taken the rare step of talking during the adjournment debate:

As the bells ring on the FINAL division on the medical evacuation bill, Save the Children has sent out a statement:

Save the Children has applauded the determined efforts of Labor, the Greens and crossbenchers, on the final day of Parliament, to ensure refugees get the urgent medical treatment they need.

Parliamentarians in both houses and of all persuasions are urged to support legislation which will streamline the urgent medical transfer of critically ill children from Australia’s offshore processing facilities.

Acting CEO of Save the Children Australia Mat Tinkler said claims the legislation would hinder Australia’s border security were baseless.

“Independents, Labor and the Greens are to be commended for their efforts to ensure asylum seeker children receive the medical treatment they need,” Tinkler said.

“The community has demanded action, to get children off Nauru.

“There is no basis to claims that this will unravel Australia’s border protection regime, and nothing justifies locking children up indefinitely. Nothing.

“We urge our parliament to sit for as long as it takes to protect the wellbeing of these vulnerable people.

“The call to get kids off Nauru will only grow louder if the Australian government refuses to listen.”

Save the Children urges the Australian government to urgently progress the resettlement of all refugees in Australia or a third country that welcomes them.”

Bob Katter playing Bob Katter:

At this stage I feel like I am just screaming into the abyss, but the vast, vast majority on Nauru and Manus Island have been assessed to be refugees, as in they should be granted asylum, by an independent body.

Labor’s Penny Wong is now seeking to clarify or amend Mathias Cormann’s motion to ensure that the Senate will still deal with BOTH the medical transfer bill and the encryption bill this afternoon.

Richard Di Natalewants to know if the house has adjourned. He says that “as a result of the tactics of both parties” the Senate is now being asked to guillotine debate to vote on laws to allow spying on Australian citizens, and “we’ll still see no change over Christmas to the torture ... of innocent people locked up [in offshore detention]”.

Scott Ryan confirms the house has adjourned.
Wong says that nobody watching proceedings could doubt that Labor, Greens, Centre Alliance, Derryn Hinch and Tim Storer were genuinely trying to pass the refugee bill.
Wong blames the government for sending the house home, saying it is an “indictment” on their handling of national security.

So - after all that - we’re continuing with the medical transfer bill before we move to encryption.

This will be the press conference where the government explains how it is not its fault the encryption laws it said were desperately needed were not passed because Labor forced it to adjourn the House at 4.30pm.

To be clear, the government has the power to extend the sitting. As it does, every day.

It is choosing not to, because it doesn’t want to lose a legislative vote.

With the sub head of “URGENT” Christian Porter’s office has called a press conference for 4.45pm.

After hours of Labor, the Greens and crossbench voting together against the government on the medical transfer bill - finally a break.

Labor is now voting with the government on a motion to end the refugee debate, because it’s clear the 4:30pm deadline to move it to the house has not been met.

Richard Di Natale is outraged, telling Wong as she crosses to vote with the government: “You won’t help refugees but you’re voting with them to help ram through spying legislation

Ladies and gentlemen, the Senate:

That gives the government less than five minutes to extend the sitting (as they do every single day)

It doesn’t look like that will happen.

So the encryption bill is also delayed.

It is five minutes to midnight (midnight, in this case, being the House rising for 2018).

Now that it’s obvious the 4.30pm deadline will not be met, the Senate has broken down.

First Penny Wong and Mathias Cormann blamed each other for the failure to pass the encryption bill.

And now Richard Di Natale is up unloading on them both:

This is everything that’s wrong with this place. You should be ashamed of yourselves – both of you. Those last two speeches didn’t even mention refugees. We’re trying to get refugees out of offshore detention where they are being tortured.”

I swear to Beyoncé, if I have to listen to those division bells one more time, I will not be responsible for what happens.

Workers of the West Unite!

New data on industrial disputes are out today. They give an insight into the level of worker unrest around Australia.

Firstly, the number of disputes is up.

During the year ended September 2018, there were 172 disputes, 16 more than in the year ended September 2017.

However, the number of working days lost to industrial disputes has fallen.

There were 111,600 working days lost in the year ended September, 25% fewer than in the year ended September 2017 (148,900).

So the volume of industrial disputes has increased in the past 12 months but they’re ending or being resolved sooner, with fewer days being lost.

The bulk of industrial disputes occurred in Western Australia.

In the September quarter, there were 47,400 working days lost around Australia due to industrial disputes, and WA accounted for 71% of the total (33,600), followed by Queensland, 15.4% (7,300), and New South Wales, 7.4% (3,500).

WA also had the highest number of working days lost per thousand employees, at 27.6 days (compared to 3.3 days per thousand employees in Queensland, and 1 day in NSW).

The vast bulk of working days lost in the September quarter resulted from industrial action in the metal product manufacturing industry.

Out of 47,400 working days lost last quarter, 28,000 of them were lost in metal manufacturing.

At the end of September, the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) ended industrial action that lasted for seven weeks.

The industrial action involved six picket lines across five sites, with more than 1,500 striking workers participating, over a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) with Alcoa’s Western Australian operations.

The AWU said it ended its industrial action after striking a new agreement that ensured permanent full-time roles could not be replaced by contractors, labour hire, casual or part-time roles.

The new EBA also included a commitment by Alcoa not to make employees forcibly redundant by outsourcing their work.

Also not being dealt with until next year (if we even come back in February now):

Religious discriminations against LGBT school students.

Whatever we are calling the energy legislation formerly known as the big stick.

Penny Wong’s motion is going to make the government choose, on the record, what it plans on doing with encryption.

Basically she is attempting to force them to choose.

It has been more than two hours of fillibustering. Which has included the literal dragging of feet.

Penny Wong is done with it. As Paul Karp reports:

Penny Wong has got to her feet to denounce the filibuster.

No one who is watching this debate who does not know this government has been playing games in the Senate in order to protect their minority in the house ... A consequence of the government running away is that an important national security bill will not become law.”

Wong produce a motion to debate the encryption bill and vote on it by 6pm to try and get both done.

Emma Husar’s full statement to the House:

On many occasions [I have been misrepresented]. I wish to correct the record on at least four of those now.

Too often during these past six months I have had to bite my tongue, and not defend myself publicly whilst being misrepresented.

I will not wait around for someone else to do what is right and show leadership.

Mr Speaker, there are two sides in every story, now is my turn to correct the record be my own champion and be the battler I have always been, in the pursuit of what is right and what is fair.

Mr Speaker, I do not object to the media doing their jobs, but misrepresenting members is not in their job description. I respect those who have shown good ethical conduct when reporting.

Let me be VERY specific.

At 9.33am on August 2, Ms Alice Workman of Buzzfeed published the most damaging article.

In it claimed she had requested my comment.

This is false.

At 9.34am, one minute after publication, she emailed me, requesting comment and answers to those 48 questions for the article that she had already published. I had no chance to refute or respond.

At 9.35am she further tweeted that I had bragged about who I was having sex with, that I sexually harassed an employee and intentionally exposed myself like Sharon Stone’s character in Basic Instinct. In front of a colleague and his infant son.

As a result of the initial misrepresentation, over 225 articles were republished each and every single one of them, misrepresenting me in so many respects.

Within 36 hours of this gross misrepresentation and the slut-shaming smears going viral, I was told to resign as the member for Lindsay … Mr Speaker – let me correct the record.

Buzzfeed and Alice Workman knew they had a confidential letter, which contained untested and contested allegations.

They also knew I was bound by confidentiality under the Whelan process, but they went ahead and published their slut-shaming story, knowing it would go viral.

Let me correct the record: They didn’t give me any notice in advance, they didn’t give me the opportunity to seek a release from my confidentiality obligations so that I could respond, they didn’t give me any opportunity to try to use our legal system to preserve the confidential process until it had properly played out.

In furtherance of me correcting the record today Mr Speaker, I have launched proceedings for defamation in the Federal Court against Buzzfeed and Alice Workman who were involved in this shameless misrepresentation and subsequent takedown.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant and today I bathe those misrepresentations in a flood of light.

To remind them they are not above the rule of law in this great country of ours.

Mr Speaker … I am not a bully. I am not Sharon Stone. I am not a thief, and I did not deliberately misuse my work expenses.

I will fight for my integrity, for my family and for Lindsay, which is full of battlers just like me and fight for the women who come after me.

I’m going to do my bit to make sure this never happens again.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year:

In the Senate right now, every single amendment is being broken into parts and voted on separately. I have never seen this happen before.

The government senators and those helping them are moving as slow as possible between each amendment.

If this is taken past 4.30, it won’t make it back to the lower house in time.

The government seems to be choosing to give up the encryption legislation passing to make sure this bill doesn’t come to the house.

The Storer-McKim amendments have passed 32-30 and 32-29. Bernardi abstained on one to make good his claim he wanted to vote differently on each. There are more government amendments, and Bernardi is still claiming he will vote differently on each as a stalling tactic.

Christopher Pyne is arguing that the encryption bill doesn’t need to come back to the House, because it has already passed the amendments.

But Labor are moving different amendments in the Senate.

We are no closer to working out if the government will suspend, but we have moved on to the Christmas valedictories.

“I am not a bully, I am not Sharon Stone, I am not a thief and I did not deliberately misuse my work expenses.

“... I am going to do my bit to ensure this never happens again.”

Julian Hill gives Emma Husar’s hand a squeeze.

Derryn Hinch points out that Scott Ryan called the result of one division incorrectly. Bernardi helpfully offers: “Well let’s go through and have a new vote on everything.” Ryan says his inadvertent error will be corrected. Mathias Cormann is now asking for toilet breaks.

In fact most of the MPs from both sides stay in the chamber.

Christopher Pyne moves the leave of absence for all MPs.

But Scott Morrison stays in the chamber.

That’s rare.

Question time officially ends.

Division is lost 72 to 68

This has become a complete and utter farce:

The crossbench women have gathered at the back of the chamber.

They abstain from this vote to suspend standing orders.

I kid you not.

After all of the grandstanding and the screaming, the government looks ready to sacrifice its precious encryption legislation to stop the medical transfer bill.

Paul Karp reports Cory Bernardi has found a new tactic to drag this out:

But first, there are government amendments to the Storer-McKim amendments. Cory Bernardi, to keep the filibuster going, indicates he intends to vote differently on each government amendment. This is going nowhere quickly folks.”

And he has help:

Ian McDonald, Barry O’Sullivan and Eric Abetz sat with Labor so they could waste time crossing back to the government side

There is movement in the Chamber, as Labor MPs gather with Tony Burke at the back.

There are a lot of people looking at their phones.

We are almost at the point where the Senate will return the medical transfer bill to the House.

Will the House adjourn at 4.30?

It is the only way the government will be able to avoid the loss.

The migration bill has passed the second reading stage 32 to 30. Labor, the Greens, Derryn Hinch, Tim Storer and Centre Alliance have passed it, and the Coalition have voted against its own bill.

The next stage of this long drawn out theatre is voting on the Storer-Nick McKim amendments (to add provisions about medical transfers). Then we’ll get a final, third reading vote and it will pass the Senate.

Bob Katter is talking in the suspension of standing orders debate, on energy.

The Senate is now voting on the medical evacuation bill.

A few more of your take aways:

Chris: As a former staffer now living in China, the year started (sort of) with me drinking pink bubbly with a lesbian bar owner after the House of Representatives passed the same sex marriage bill by an overwhelming majority. However, it wasn’t long into 2018 before we returned to the same sort of back-biting and infighting that the Coalition is used to. We saw Barnaby Joyce relegated to the backbench and the introduction of the “bonk ban,” where he promptly started undermining the PM. The climate wars continued to bubble away, along with the culture wars left over from the Same Sex Marriage bill. The Coalition removed a sitting PM for reasons that make no sense, and replaced him with someone that wasn’t actually on the original ballot!
What really stuck out for me was having intelligent people ask me “What’s wrong with your politicians?” This was coming from people of all nations, whether they were Chinese, American, British, Italian, Colombian, Indian, Canadian ... in a year of crazy politics, Australia seemed to be the oddest sore thumb among them all. Regardless of what MPs tell you, the Coalition is almost certainly in for a hiding at the next election. It’s going to be bad.

Margaret: The Russian ambassador’s press conference is my pick for 2018. I spend far too much time reading [Politics Live] during the day so will really miss it during the break.

As it stands now, the government, with help from Cory Bernardi and Pauline Hanson, look to have successfully, wound down the clock on the Senate debate on the medical evacuation bill.

It looks like the government are going to keep the scheduled adjournment at 4.30pm, sacrificing the passing of the encryption bill.

At this stage.

But it will stop the medical evacuation bill.

Again, there does not need to be a vote, or a motion. The House will automatically adjourn at 4.30pm.

Parliament will be suspended early, and it will be done by the notice paper.

And in the Senate:

Meanwhile

Ross Hart has returned to his seat. And his Twitter.

Tony Burke is off and talking to the crossbench.

Chris Bowen is now attempting to suspend standing orders over electricity.

So everyone is just facing off with each other, with parliamentary procedures as their weapons, as they play political chicken.

Scott Ryan has said Pauline Hanson’s motion will be the last one he allows.

Pauline Hanson is on her feet attempting to move a motion to extend debate to 5pm, leave not granted. So now she is trying to suspend standing orders.

So all the conservative parties – the Coalition, Cory Bernardi and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation are lock stock and barrel with the plan to delay the Phelps bill.

Scott Ryan has got advice about whether this is in order: it’s about an extension of time not a deferral of the vote, so it’s technically a different motion. Ryan said this is the “last time” he will entertain a motion to change the time limit.

Hanson gets five minutes to speak on the motion:

The Australian people feel cheated they have not been able to have their say on this … The Greens have more interest in what’s happening around the world than worrying about the people here in Australia.”

See what I mean?

Josh Frydenberg just said “hyperbowl” and no one reacted. No one.

Ed Husic is still going.

This is what everyone is watching in QT right now. No one is listening. Everyone is just waiting on the Senate.

If you needed any more proof everyone is just winding down the clock, Ed Husic has gone back to Twitter.

Mathias Cormann is on his feet defending the Cory Bernardi filibuster.

Cormann:

We should not be dealing with this bill until the proper consideration of the Senate has taken place. Mr Shorten knows this is a reckless move when it comes to our national security. He’s quite happy to sacrifice … our offshore processing arrangements.”

Jenny McAllister says the filibuster is “pathetic”, one of many Labor interjections. Liberal senator Zed Seselja asks they be called to order.

Penny Wong: “Time wasting – more time wasting. We have a national security bill to deal with later today.”

We’re now having a four-minute bell ring and a vote on Bernardi’s stalling tactics.

As Katharine Murphy reported, Cory Bernardi is helping to wind down the clock:

For those wondering how the government finishes parliament early.

As the notice paper stands, the adjournment is scheduled for 4.30pm. That is usual. And then, with all the business, it usually gets extended.

This time, the government is attempting to ensure it won’t be extended. That parliament automatically rises after the adjournment debate at 4.30pm.

No motion. No vote.

The scheduled time, which is always changed, will stand.

So Scott’s Choice – encryption, or not?

As Murph just pointed out, it is now encryption v medical evacuations.

If the government wants encryption to be passed, it has to keep sitting.

If it keeps sitting, then the medical evacuation bill can come up.

The government will lose that vote.

Cory Bernardi has tried to suspend standing orders, twice. The first attempt lost 31-29.

He’s now on his feet pulling a similar trick. One Labor senator asks him if he’s “doing the government’s dirty work”. There are now heckles of “which government – are you rejoining them, Cory?”

Bernardi says the bill has been “hijacked” and turned into “a weapon of political destruction”. He accuses Labor and the Greens of “sheer bastardry by the use of numbers” to cut short debate.

“It’s about sick kids,” respond Labor senators.

Christopher Pyne is attempting to wind Labor up into heckling, by talking about the deaths at sea and the “cheap political stunt Labor wants to pull today to impress their friends” and force the men and women of the Australian defence force to pull dead bodies from the sea.

I kid you not.

The reply to this is from the former IHMS chief medical officer on Nauru.

This entire question time is like a visit inside Michael McCormack’s head.

The spider that snuck up on Claire O’Neil was a “dangerous whitetail” and the member for Whitlam may have just saved his colleague’s life with his iPad reflexes.

Labor is still asking about energy.

This question time is basically the Bob Katter Hour.

Why is Labor being so quiet during these dixers?

“No one wants to fuck this up.”

Every single one of them is acting like they’ve been allowed at the adult’s table at grandma’s house for the first time in their life.

In the Senate, all of senator Cory Bernardi’s amendments to the medical transfer bill have been defeated.

Mathias Cormann’s attempt to send the bill off to committee also lost 31 votes to 29.

All signs are that the alliance of Labor, the Greens, Derryn Hinch, Centre Alliance and co-sponsor Tim Storer has held strong and this bill will soon pass the Senate.

The voting is speeding up, with only 1 minute between votes

Ahhhh.

A message from a secret squirrel in the Senate, that the government is working as hard as possible to slow things down.
It has split up as many amendments as possible.

It is very, very muted in the house right now.

As Katharine Murphy points out – NO ONE wants to be kicked out.

No one.

Every single number counts right now.

Bill Shorten to Josh Frydenberg:

Can the prime minister please tell the house which clause in his divestments legislation prevents the government from forcing states to privatise the electricity assets.

That is what we were talking about earlier.

It’s all about getting to Bob Katter right now.

Frydenberg:

Section four, schedule one, item one, page 25, lines pre18, he made it very clear that if the body corporate is an authority of the commonwealth or an authority of the state or territory, the court may order the body corporate to dispose of those assets ... This is the amendment that the member for Kennedy was making clear. To avoid doubt the court cannot make an order under subsection three for the body corporate to dispose of interest in securities or assets otherwise in accordance with paragraph three A.

It really says something about this question time that no one noticed a member jumping up in fright and spilling water everywhere.

There was a spider in the House

Claire O’Neil just jumped up like a bolt of lighting.

Stephen Jones killed it with his iPad.

IT IS ALL HAPPENING

There was another question on energy.

I’m keeping an eye on the Senate and dipping in and out, so you might not get the same level of Q and A back and forth at the moment.

There are 15 amendments being put forward on the medical evacuation bill.

So it is going to be a bit of a procedual mess before it arrives in the House.

Scott Ryan has cut down each division to a minute and is trying to pass as many as possible on the voices.

Bill Shorten to Scott Morrison:

Is he aware that yesterday the Queensland LNP leader, Deb Frecklington, said about the government plans to force Queensland to privatise electricity assets: ‘The prime minister’s plan is out of touch. Queenslanders want lower power prices, not asset sales.’ Isn’t the leader of the Queensland party correct when she says the prime minister’s plans are completely out of touch?

Here is what Frecklington said to Sarah Vogler from the Courier Mail yesterday:

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington has also dismissed the federal government’s divestiture threat.

“I don’t support the federal government’s plan.

“The people of Queensland have spoken in relation to the sale of assets and there is no appetite for that.

“… The PM’s plan is out of touch,” Ms Frecklington said.

“Queenslanders want lower power prices but they don’t want asset sales.

“We believe our electricity assets should be kept in public hands, so the government can control the prices.

“You can lower power prices and keep assets in public hands which my plan will do.”

Josh Frydenberg takes it:

The leader of the opposition refers to the LNP leader in Queensland, Deb Frecklington.

I would share with their house a statement.

LNP leader Deb Frecklington has welcomed confirmation that the federal government’s legislation to prohibit misconduct in the energy sector will not allow Queensland’s electricity assets to be sold. We welcome efforts to stamp out misconduct and ensure the lowest possible prices for consumers.

Queenslanders want lower prices, but they don’t want asset sales, Mr Speaker.

Then, this is what is difficult for the leader of the opposition, from Deb Frecklington,

“Unfortunately, the Annastacia Palaszczuk government has been using electricity as a secret tax for years,” Mr Speaker.

“Labor is drunk on the revenue this tax generates and, according to its own budget, will rip off more than $8.5bn from Queensland electricity customers over five years, so which side is the leader of the opposition on, Queensland consumers, or Queensland energy companies and the state government?” And she goes on. She goes on.

Instead of lowering prices, the Annastacia Palaszczuk Labor government is solely focused on profit maximisation and has allowed government owned generators to abuse their market power and price gouge, Mr Speaker. And it goes on.

This is the most relevant statement from Deb Frecklington for the leader of the opposition, because she says Bill Shorten, the leader of the opposition’s reckless 45% emissions reduction target well, according to Queensland’s Labor’s expert panel on renewable energy, courts and early closures of Queensland coal fired power stations.

So, Mr Speaker, Deb Frecklington has a lot to say today, she has a lot to say. She says the leader of the opposition is sending up our prices for Queenslanders, she says about the blue-collar workers in Queensland at those coal-fired power stations that Labor is selling it out and she says she is on the side of the Liberal and National government at the federal level and that they are doing everything they can to lower the power prices.

Mr Speaker, this legislation is a test, this legislation is a clear test of the leader of the opposition. Will he continue to be a proxy for big business and big energy companies, or will he join with us to stamp out misconduct to ensure the lowest possible energy prices for Australian families and businesses?

The first dixer, from Trevor Evans is on border security.

It’s a repeat of the “what we did, what I did” press conference from earlier.

Scott Morrison is working very, very hard at not yelling.

Senate question time is delayed while these votes play out.

We are still facing the prospect of the House adjourning at 4.30pm.

That’s almost as bad as losing a legislative vote. Both say you don’t have control of the floor.

The Senate is dealing with the last bit of the medical evacuation bill.

Mathias Cormann attempted to adjourn the debate. That failed 32 to 30.

We are in the chamber for the final question time of the year.

Scott Morrison has just arrived.

Cormann’s motion to adjourn the bill was defeated 32 votes to 30.

Senate president Scott Ryan says the time allotted has expired, so we’re now onto votes of substance on each amendment.

Cory Bernardi’s second reading amendments are up first, he wants them split because senators may have different views.

Coalition Senate leader Mathias Cormann has moved to adjourn debate on the migration bill with medical transfer amendments.

The Senate is now dividing - the first of a long series we can expect first from the government to delay the Phelps bill then from Labor, Greens and the crossbench to pass it.

The Storer amendment is coming into the Senate vote very soon:

These amendments are about making sure vulnerable and sick people in Australia’s care can receive the medical treatment they need.

These amendments –

• Ensure sick people – including children and their families – can be transferred to Australia for medical treatment; Meaning if two or more treating doctors recommend a medical transfer, the Minister must take action on (approve or deny) a medical transfer within 24 hours of being notified;
• Ensure the minister – not the department – is the final decision-maker for medical transfers;
• Create transparency and reporting measures to make the minister accountable for his decisions; and
• Establish an independent health advice panel to provide greater medical and mental health advice and oversight over the regional processing cohort.
  

Labor will not outsource the powers of the Migration Act to an individual who is not the minister or a delegate of the minister.

The minister can refuse the transfer if the minister reasonably believes that the transfer of the person to Australia would be prejudicial to security within the meaning of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979, including because an adverse security assessment in respect of the person is in force under that act.

Cutting through the convoluted language there, it does say you can flog off a company, including to the same government.

But in order to do it, they have to be in competition with each other. Which is a little difficult, because it would be like the government setting up a second Australia Post in competition to the original one.

On that issue of privatisation (which the government says is a scare campaign and can’t happen) Chris Bowen and Mark Butler have just released this:

It’s clear the Morrison Government’s “big stick” bill will be able to force the privatisation of state and commonwealth-owned energy assets, like Snowy Hydro.

This isn’t a ‘big stick’ policy, it’s the latest version of the Liberals’ ‘big sell-off’ – going after the publicly owned electricity assets that Labor governments have refused to privatise.

Privatisation means higher power prices for families. Privatising energy assets hasn’t led to lower prices or better outcomes for consumers; it has led to massive private profits and electricity prices that keep going up and up. Yet electricity privatisation remains in the Liberals’ DNA.

When asked whether his ‘big stick’ bill could lead to electricity privatisation, the treasurer said ‘absolutely not’. This is a blatant lie.

The explanatory memorandum to the bill makes it clear that divestment involves the sale of assets of one corporation to any other (unrelated) corporation (section 5.28).

In addition, it states that if the corporation subject to a divestment order is publicly owned, under strict conditions (section 5.30), the sale of divested assets can (but is not required to) be to other government owned corporations.

There is nothing in the “big stick” Bill that requires the sale of government assets to go to other government bodies and there is nothing in the Bill that stops the Morrison Liberal government from forcing the privatisation of government owned electricity assets, including Snowy Hydro, and government electricity companies in Queensland, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania.

There’s only one guarantee with Morrison – more power privatisation and higher power prices.”

The whole explanatory memorandum they refer to says:

5.28 The body corporate can dispose of the relevant interest to any entity that is not a body corporate that is related to it (within the meaning of subsection 4A(5) of the CCA) or is not an associate of the body corporate. Essentially, this requires the body corporate to make the disposal to an arm’s length third party purchaser. [Schedule 1, item 1, paragraph 153ZB(2)(a)]

and

5.30 The body corporate subject to the divesture order can dispose of the relevant interest to any entity that is a body corporate that is related to it or is an associate of the body corporate if:

• the related body corporate or associate is an authority of the commonwealth, or a state or territory government (as defined in section 4 of the CCA);
• the body corporate subject to the divestiture order is an authority of the same government as the purchasing body corporate or associate; and
• the related body corporate or associate is genuinely in competition in relation to electricity markets with the body corporate subject to the divestiture order. [Schedule 1, item 1, subsection 153ZB(3)]

5.31 This means that a divestiture order would allow a government owned vendor body corporate to dispose of the interest to a purchaser body corporate owned by the same government, if they are genuinely in competition with each other in relation to the electricity markets.

Here’s a release from the Bureau of Statistics today.

Prison numbers

The number of adults in prison has risen for the seventh consecutive year in Australia.

Between 30 June 2017 and 30 June 2018, the number of prisoners in adult corrective services increased by 4%, from 41,202 to 42,974.

The national imprisonment rate increased by 3%, from 216 prisoners to 221 prisoners per 100,000 adult population.

In the last 12 months there was a 10% increase in the number of people imprisoned for illicit drugs and sexual assault and related offences.

There has also been a large increase - in the last decade - in the number of people who are in custody but who haven’t yet been sentenced.

In 2008, the proportion of prisoners who were unsentenced was 23%. That figure is now 32.2%.

And the phenomenon has occurred in ever state and territory.

In the last year, Victoria experienced the biggest jump in unsentenced prisoners (by 22%, or 485 prisoners). The state has recently undergone extensive bail reform, including presumption against bail for serious crimes such as rape, armed robbery and culpable driving causing death, and a reduction in judicial discretion.

Victoria has experienced the biggest jump in unsentenced prisoners in the last decade, too.

See these numbers for the rise in the proportion of each state’s prison population that is unsentenced:

NSW

2008: 23.4%

2018: 33.5%

Victoria

2008: 19.2%

2018: 35.3%

Queensland

2008: 22.4%

2018: 30%

South Australia

2008: 33.3%

2018: 37.3%

Western Australia

2008: 20.3%

2018: 27.8%

Tasmania

2008: 20.8%

2018: 28.8%

Northern Territory

2008: 24.4%

2018: 28.9%

Australian Capital Territory

2008: 32.8%

2018: 37.8%

Australia

2008: 23%

2018: 32.2%

A small point in this madness – Bob Katter just asked for clarification on whether the energy bill will allow the government to privatise assets.

It is a massive deal in Queensland. Privatisation brought down the Bligh and Newman governments. MASSIVE. Queenslanders hate privatisation. Especially of power assets. Thank you Joh.

Labor started this attack yesterday. The government straight up denied it and said it is just a scare campaign. But both the Queensland Labor premier and the opposition leader came out in unison to tell the government to back off.

Katter is looking a little shaky, suddenly. That is a massive deal for the government, who needs his vote.

So with no leave to consider the bill as a whole, the energy bill is put to the side for a moment and we move onto 90 second statements.

There is 20 minutes left in the Senate debate on the (basically) medical evacuation bill.

It’s almost on its way to the House.

Right.

Where are we?

The Senate is discussing the bill which will carry the medical evacuation bill through to the House. A sort of trojan horse, if you will.

That finishes at 1.50pm. The government can not extend that debate.

Then the Senate will deal with encryption, which will succeed because Labor is voting for it.

Then that goes back to the House to become law and the security and intelligence agencies can start sending out those notices which will allow them to read encrypted messages.

And then we deal with the home affairs bill which has the medical transfers as part of it.

Unless the House is adjourned at 4.30pm.

Timing is critical.

The second reading debate on the energy bill looks like happening.

Labor has denied leave for the bill to be determined as a whole.

The games are continuing – the government is attempting to delay its own bill by referring it to the intelligence and security committee. With a reporting date of 30 March.

(There is no parliament in March.)

You can watch the Scott Morrison press conference here.

He is almost vibrating with fury. You can see it.

On the Chris Bowen amendment:

Ayes: 70

Noes: 75

Senator Tim Storer is now up on medical transfers, as the Senate debates the government bill which Labor and the crossbench are pushing to amend with provisions of the Kerryn Phelps bill.

Storer noted the tragic case of Hamid Kehazaei, who died of septicemia in offshore detention, and that there have been two suicide attempts in offshore detention in the last 48 hours.
Storer:

“[These amendments] will return decisions about the health of asylum seekers to those who always should have been making them in the first place – qualified, independent doctors.”

Storer applauded the courage of Labor, the Greens and Centre Alliance for agreeing, giving special tribute to Greens immigration Nick McKim for co-sponsoring the amendments with him.

From Mike Bowers to you

It’s a twitter war

The House is moving on to the government’s energy bill, and Chris Bowen has moved this motion:

The order of the day having been read for the resumption of the debate on the question:

• That the bill be now read a second time;
  
• And on the amendment moved thereto by Mr Bowen, viz; that all words after “that” be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:
  

“the House declines to give the bill a second reading, and notes:

(1) this unprecedented intervention into markets which will result in higher prices for families and businesses;

(2) the government has abandoned all pretence at being the party of free enterprise and open markets; and

(3) the government has abandoned all proper process, scrutiny and consultation.”

A division has been called.

I guess this is one way to make a room look more crowded? The power of perception.

Nice to see the former minister for women up and speaking in the House again.

From your take aways:

James: The 2018 political year was summed up for me by the following answers given by my 15-year-old son in his year 9 politics exam:

Q: Why would Israel be a topic of interest for the voters of Wentworth? A: Because there are a lot of Jewish people in Wentworth, so by supporting Israel’s irresponsible land grabbing, Scott thought the Jewish population might like him. It didn’t work, and the Liberals lost.

Q: The events of 2018 prove that our system of federal parliament is fundamentally broken. Discuss. A: I do not believe this statement is true. Although our system is not perfect or without flaws, I believe the problems we are having are the fault of the government and political parties in charge. The “culture” of backstabbing within the government has made the public distrust them, and the Coalition is willing to do anything to stay in power. They are not helped by the fact that the population density of spineless people, nasty people and stupid people appears to be much higher in politics than the general population.

Harold: The Liberal party no longer understands the world in which we live. Especially its blundering conservative constituency.

Bernadette: My favourite moment could be today if the government is defeated on legislation in the house ... on refugees. Oh could it be?

Penny Wong attempted to cut off the debate, to get it moved faster, but because there is already a standing resolution to get it cut off at 1.50pm, the Clerk advised the debate could not be cut off.

The Senate is bringing on the Home Affairs amendment bill, which is the carrier for the medical evacuation amendments.

Kelly O’Dwyer has seen this legislation passed:

Up to 6 million Australians will now have access to a guaranteed entitlement of five days’ unpaid family and domestic violence leave following the passage of legislation in the Parliament today.

Minister for Jobs and Industrial Relations and Minister for Women, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP, said the Coalition government’s legislation enshrines family and domestic violence leave as a workplace right in the National Employment Standards for the first time.

“This historic change to the law will enshrine a minimum standard for family and domestic violence leave to all Australians covered by the Fair Work Act,” O’Dwyer said.

“Regardless of the basis of their employment or the size of their employer, this change will provide a universal safety net entitlement for workers under the Fair Work Act.”

“Australians who need to take leave to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence will be able to do so safe in the knowledge that their job is protected.”

The Fair Work Amendment (Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2018 extends the decision of the Fair Work Commission in March 2018 to grant five days’ unpaid leave to employees covered by modern awards to other employees covered by the Fair Work Act.

The Commission made its decision after carefully considering extensive evidence and submissions from unions, employers and other interested parties. It indicated it would revisit consideration of this issue in mid-2021.

Today’s change follows the recent announcement of additional initiatives to combat family and domestic violence in the $109m Women’s Economic Security Statement in November.

“The Coalition government has zero tolerance for violence against women, having committed well in excess of $350m to address women’s safety,” Minister O’Dwyer concluded.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au.

I didn’t get to spend too much time on this yesterday afternoon, with everything else that was going on, but Barnaby Joyce spoke to Sky during his regular spot with Joel Fitzgibbon to say that schools should not be “political corrected bullied” and that he didn’t agree that religious discrimination should be removed.

Then he went here:

If I send my child to an all-girls’ school, I don’t want the complication and the possibility, and they haven’t completely ruled it out, that if someone turns up and says, ‘I want to identify was a woman, I want to identify as a girl, I want to go into your bathrooms, I want to go into your change rooms, I want to be educated ... that might be that person’s right and wish, but everybody else says, ‘well that’s an affront on our rights’ and we want that issue dealt with.

We want it dealt with clearly so that we know that our rights are protected and other people’s rights are respected.

You cannot send a student whose genetic make up is XY … to a school established for people who are XX. It is not fair on the larger school unit that they have to change and accept all because of the desires of one.”

Which reminds us of the time he was against the introduction of the cervical cancer vaccine Gardisal, because of the “psychological implications or the social implications” because girls would suddenly start rushing out and having sex, if they were protected from HPV, the virus which can lead to cervical cancer, in 2006.

“There might be an overwhelming backlash from people saying, ‘Don’t you dare put something out there that gives my 12-year-old daughter a licence to be promiscuous’.”

Then there was the time he was against marriage equality because of what it would do to his four daughters.

“We know that the best protection for those girls is that they get themselves into a secure relationship with a loving husband, and I want that to happen for them,” he said in 2011.

“I don’t want any legislator to take that right away from me.”

Then there was the time he put his marriage break down on the Hansard record during the marriage equality debate this time last year, while saying how he still couldn’t vote for marriage equality.

Yup.

It is a bit late, because this morning has been a complete and utter birdcage of insanity, but Tony Abbott is delivering his report into Indigenous Australia, following his envoy tour.

Meanwhile, in the House

The second reading of the encryption bill has gone through the House. Just Andrew Wilkie and Adam Bandt voted against it, from what I can see.

Difference in simple majority and absolute majority, because you’ll be hearing those terms a lot today.

Simple majority: more on one side than the other.

Absolute majority: 75 plus one (half the seats plus one more)

Things are going GREAT

Thank you for all the messages you have sent through about your standouts from the 2018 Australian political year – and thank you for your well-wishes. I’m not repeating them here, because it’s a bit like retweeting a compliment, but we do appreciate them.

Allan: What stood out for me in 2018: In the positive: Gay marriage finally getting through with such a majority from the plebiscite. So despite the best attempts by the RWNJ’s to railroad it the people saw through the smoke and mirrors and voted for it.

In the negative: There is so much that could be listed, but it would fill more than a page. Really it can best be summed up with my amazement that despite everything that this government does and stands for that something like 46% of my fellow citizens still want to vote for this mob. I genuinely stand in despair that this could be so.

Christa and John: 2018 will be remembered as the year when the country narrowly avoided being taken over in an authoritarian nationalist coup led by Peter Dutton and Tony Abbott, which was made a possibility by the ravages visited on society by decline and death of neoliberalism – and the naked self-interest it conditions in politicos.

And hopefully the year will be remembered as the year when finally the country reversed course and started to recover its soul which had been sacrificed to regressive economic policy that increased inequality, to the persecution of refugees for political gain, and to the far-right ideological fixation that destroyed the possibility of effective climate change and energy policy.

Rohan: Two moments struck me this year are the following: ONE: Malcolm Turnbull appearing on Q&A after his ejection from the leadership of the Liberal party. He claimed that his government was responsible for the marriage equality vote, eliciting a mixture of scoffs and applause from the audience. His rewriting of history was brazenly false – he and his party found every possible excuse to kick the can of marriage equality down the road – but it also completely minimised the work by marriage equality advocates such as Dr Kerryn Phelps, Magda Szubanski, the ALP, Greens and many others. I nearly spat out my dinner! As Catherine Tate’s Nan would say ... “What a load of old shit!” TWO: Prime Muppet Scott Morrison (I refuse to call him Scomo – a term of endearment perhaps for someone who is playing on your team, and thus, has a shared goal) claiming that he would remove the ability for schools to use religious discrimination of LGBT students within two weeks. A few months later, and the LNP are kicking the can down the road again … but not before taking time our to shore up their own safety with anti-copy party motions to prevent Morrison being ejected by his party members.

David: Peter Dutton putting in a huge effort and thinking his numbers men could count, ordering a new chair for the PMs office, booking his whole family to fly first class to Canberra for his ascension, only to discover that Turnbull had developed a cunning plan and Scott Morrison was now PM. Only comparable event I can think of is Malcolm Fraser calling an election to thrash Bill Hayden only to get back from Government House to discover Bob Hawke was now opposition leader.

While we are in the land of state politics, Jay Weatherill is announcing his retirement in the South Australian parliament.

Meanwhile, for a bit of levity, Bernie Finn from the Victorian Liberals has quite the unique take on why there aren’t more women in the Liberal party – it’s Labor (and the Greens’) fault.

I mean, a counter-argument to that would be preselecting women in safer seats, but that would be CRAZY.

And because I have been asked, His Excellence Paul de Jersey is currently the acting governor general, as Peter Cosgrove is overseas, representing Australia for the funeral of George HW Bush.

De Jersey is the Queensland governor.

The more you know.

For those asking when the parliament could be shut down, really, it can be at any time.

But it would most likely be after question time.

David Coleman just about confirmed that as a live option while talking to the ABC just seconds ago:

The prime minister has made a clear statement about that. We’re very determined not to allow these changes to be passed through the parliament. They would massively weaken Australia’s border security, they would lead to the starting of boats again, and they would lead to the end of offshore processing and resettlement, which is one of the key tenets that has kept Australia’s borders secure for all these years under this government. And we’ll not be agreeing to those changes and as the PM said, we’ll be using all measures to seek to stop them.”

That press conference, as seen by Mike Bowers:

This year is not over yet, but here is a bit more from how you saw it:

Scott: Far and away the biggest event for 2018 was that climate change is back on the agenda in a very powerful way. Solar is going crazy which means governments will just have to deal with renewables into the electricity grid.

Obviously the middle- to upper-middle classes in Victoria are convinced of the pressing need for climate action AND so are school kids, this is very powerful.

ALSO the public is finally waking up to just how bad natural disasters will get, see California and now Queensland fires. Sadly as the disasters keep coming the public will realise just how duped they have been and they will get very angry.

Wendy: As an historian the five most memorable images of this parliament are:

(1) Julie Bishop’s elegant legs in her red shoes at her presser after losing the ballot

(2) Liberal party women adorning themselves in Handmaids Tale red in the chamber

(3) The new PM walking out of the chamber as the member for Wentworth rose to make her maiden speech

(4) Liberal party men vacating the chamber as Julia Banks announced her resignation from the party

(5) Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, first Muslim woman Senator, standing resplendent delivering her articulate maiden speech one week after Fraser Anning’s disgraceful diatribe.

Stephen: As to this year to be brutally honest I am just glad I have made it through the last 12 or so months, the last year has been particularly brutal for me. I am 49, a survivor of “conversion therapy” and a mother’s abuse as a child. I spent 10 years living on the streets of Sydney after running away from home. I am also “Public Enemy Number One” right now due to being trans. The last 12 months alone I have attended 12 funerals for people now out of this mess. So my feelings are personal and also hurt and angry because people need to learn to be more aware of what they say, because the real-world consequences for their stupid hurtful actions or “jokes” are having real-life reactions out here in the world.

And it is also worth mentioning that the government has fought the advice of medical professionals to have asylum seekers and refugee brought to Australia for medical treatment they were not receiving in Nauru or Manus Island, meaning the federal court has been asked to intervene.

Then the government brought a case that questioned the federal court’s authority in these matters.

This bill leaves the responsibility with the minister. It provides for border protection and national security protections. It installs an independent health authority. It only allows for temporary transfers.

Just a reminder that it was doctors who really started turning the tide on the offshore detention centre medical transfers, because they (through their professional bodies) said they could no longer stand by and watch it happen.

Scott Morrison talks about the encryption laws cluster here:

And here he is talking about using “every tool” to stop the medical transfers bill:

For what it is worth, Labor sources are infuriated with Scott Morrison’s take on the encryption bill snafu and want it called out as a lie.

They say that Morrison wanted the committee report into encryption tabled by 5.30pm yesterday, but the committee was not even meant to meet until 4.45pm to finalise the report.

Then there were the nine divisions in under an hour over the energy big stick bill.

The committee then met, and finalised the report in 15 minutes, where it was sent to the House. Labor worked with Christopher Pyne to delay the adjournment debate to ensure the report could be tabled last night.

And we know that all happened, because Mike Bowers caught photos of the discussions the committee was having in the House and we were told what the argument was about, before this all blew up today.

From Paul Karp’s story:

In a huddle on the sidelines of parliamentary speeches about the Coalition’s energy legislation, members of the joint committee on intelligence and security handling the bill engaged in open debate about details of the deal.

Racing to beat the adjournment debate so a full report could be tabled, the deputy chair, Anthony Byrne, was seen having words with the chair, Andrew Hastie, and the attorney general, Christian Porter, alongside fellow committee members Mike Kelly and Julian Leeser.

Guardian Australia understands Labor objected to the timeframe set by Hastie to agree on outstanding issues.

After the group broke, Byrne proceeded to sprint in and out of the chamber with drafts of proposed recommendations.

As the 7.30pm deadline approached, Porter strolled back in and shook hands triumphantly first with Byrne then Kelly.

The government leader in the House, Christopher Pyne, asked Hastie if he was still waiting for the report, then delayed the adjournment, allowing the report to be tabled at 7.50pm.

In an improvised speech likely indicating the member for Canning had been more focused on the report itself, Hastie praised government concessions to enhance oversight, define the term “systemic weakness” and narrow the range of offences to which new encryption cracking powers will apply.

Hastie commended Byrne and Kelly for bipartisan support for the bill and the secretariat for the haste in putting the report together.

The outbreak of bonhomie crossed the aisle, and Byrne in turn praised Hastie’s “steadfast commitment to bipartisanship essential to keeping this committee working and this parliament working”.

For anyone wondering, these photos were taken just after 4pm.

While Scott Morrison had his press conference of power in the House, Tony Burke and Adam Bandt have just walked in to a room together to have a chat. Christopher Pyne is talking with his staff.

Tony Abbott is in the chamber tapping away with two fingers on his laptop. That is how he types.

Burke is back and is talking to Pyne behind the Speaker’s chair.

Scott Morrison walks out of the press conference as more questions are yelled at him.

Last question was called and it was on how is it a threat to national security to allow the minister in charge (right now that is David Coleman) to make the decision:

Morrison says he dreads the day a “Labor minister is in charge” of those decisions:

You know what – I’m not going to see an arrangement put in place that could ever see potentially, and I hope a long way down the track, a Labor minister being responsible for a decision like that. We’ve got a clear policy – it’s working. It is worked for five years. It has kept Australians safe. Anyone who wants to have a debate with me about that, happy to line up, any day of the week.

Why would you change something that has ... worked so successfully, so hard won, and at great cost. Why on Earth would Bill Shorten sell all of that out for a cheap day in politics?

Siri, show me a politician under pressure:

Scott Morrison:

Stopping terrorists is more important than getting a cheap win for the nightly news out of Canberra. Their support for amendments in the Senate to abolish offshore processing as we know it, the cheap win in the House of Representatives, don’t do it, Bill.

The cheap win on the House of Representatives floor is not worth it. You know what you’ll be telling every Australian? Every single Australian, if you support those amendment, Bill, you’ll be telling them what they really already know, when it comes to border protection, your heart isn’t in it, and you and your party cannot be trusted that you have learnt nothing from the horror show you inflicted on them when you were last in government.

So I think you know where I stand on this issue. I have always stood on the same place in this issue, I will never move from where I stand on this issue. We’ll continue to ensure a strong border protection framework for Australia that’s been successful, and we will continue to deliver the leadership on national security, we’re no longer joined at the hip when it comes to the Labor Party, I doubt we really ever were.

Every single time, they have to be dragged along, dragged along, we’re the party of national security and we can keep Australians safe. Bill Shorten hasn’t got the mettle for it.

The games being played over the encryption bill are basically boiling down to this: the government wants to change the timetable in the House to stop the Nauru bill.

The amendments to the encryption bill were going to be made in the Senate. Now the government is saying the amendments have to be dealt with in the House.

Meanwhile, Christopher Pyne is in the House having very quick meetings with the crossbenchers, after most of them rejected the government’s come and see how important our border-security message is.

Scott Morrison (who seriously looks the most emotional I have ever seen him)

Bill Shorten’s mettle has been tested on national security today, and border protection, and has been found untrue.

Bill Shorten does not have the mettle to deal with national security. He does not have the mettle to deal with border protection. Our government has demonstrated that we do. I have demonstrated that I do. In this place, people can have some short memories.

It wasn’t that long ago where boats crashed on the rocks and children were dragged up from the sea face down. I remember it. I stopped it.

With the suite of measures that were necessary together to stop that horror. Temporary protection visas, I had to legislate through the parliament and Labor tried to stop me. But we passed them. Offshore processing, which they resisted and resisted and resisted, and then put into place and then we made it work.

And turning back boats – where it’s safe to do so, which everyone told us wasn’t possible – but I did it. We did it. And it worked. Labor has already said they want to get rid of temporary protection visas, they said it doesn’t matter. Kevin Rudd said the same thing in August of 2008. He got rid of it and the boats came again. Now Labor want to abolish offshore processing as we know it. Turn it into a transit lounge. They have learned nothing when it comes to what it takes to protect our borders in this country.

Just a reminder that this change leaves the medical evacuation approvals with the minister, who has the power to reject it on the grounds of national security and border protection.

It needs two doctors to sign off on any transfer. If the minister rejects the advice, then they have to publish their reasons why. An independent medical panel will then review the decisions.

It is also only for temporary medical transfers. Which already occur.

While we wait for Scott Morrison to step up to the Blue Room podium, we’re just checking into the Senate, where the Greens are absolutely tearing into Labor for agreeing to pass the encryption bill.

The drug-testing bill, which was once part of the welfare bill, is also popping its head back in the Senate again today, so try and keep an eye out on that.

Sometime between 12.45 and 1.50, Tim Storer and Nick McKim plan on moving this motion:

That—

(a) the home affairs legislation amendment (miscellaneous measures) bill 2018 be called on at 12.45 pm on Thursday, 6 December 2018, and have precedence over all government business until determined;

(b) if, by 1.50 pm the bill has not been finally considered, the questions on all remaining stages shall be put without debate; and

(c) paragraph (b) of this order shall operate as a limitation of debate under standing order 142.

Then, when that debate is underway, Storer will move an amendment, a version of the Kerryn Phelps bill

Once this debate is under way, Senator Storer will move an amendment which is very similar to the Phelps private members bill. Labor, the Greens, Centre Alliance, Derryn Hinch and Tim Storer will see that pass.

Then it gets to the House, just after 3pm, when question time ends.

The government can be defeated (on the numbers, this stage) or run down the clock, so it won’t come to a vote this year.

Running down the clock seems to be the favoured option right now. Because, according to all the messages flying around this building at the moment, losing this legislative vote means “we’re fucked”. (The “we’re” here, being the government.)

Scott Morrison has called a press conference in the Blue Room for 10.20am.

So (and thank you to the experts, who are frantically answering my procedure questions), it seems that a delay in the Senate would mean the House would have to suspend standing orders to consider the message from the Senate. That is where the absolute majority comes in - 76. Labor and the Greens and the crossbench, minus Bob Katter, make for 75.

The House has an automatic adjournment standing order that kicks off at 4.30pm (no more government business).

Looking at the daily program, number three on government business today, is Christopher Pyne suspending standing orders 31 and 33, which would prevent the automatic adjournment and remove a limit on new business being introduced after the scheduled adjournment time – meaning the House decides when it adjourns.

If those standing orders get suspended, the time limit won’t apply. If they don’t get suspended, they will.

BASICALLY – the government is trying to arrange the timetable to make any sure the motion from the Senate which will bring this all on doesn’t make it to the House in time to be passed.

What that means is that the government will bring the Senate motion on so late, that it is too late to make it into the House, where they are all but guaranteed of losing the vote.

Shiz is getting REAL

This is the most sunshine and lollypops and rainbow cakes served by unicorns take on this ever uttered in the history of capitalism:

The bells have rung and parliament has begun.

Scott Morrison wandered over to Tony Abbott and had a chat to start the parliamentary morning off.

Thinking through some scenarios about today

It looks at the moment like the government is going to lose this vote on transferring people from Nauru and Manus.

The Senate crossbenchers appear locked and loaded, and the numbers appear to be there in the House.

Losing a legislative vote is extremely rare.

It can be interpreted as a vote of no confidence in the government of the day. So the next logical question in my mind after absorbing these facts is will Labor take things to the next step this afternoon and move a motion of no confidence in the government?

At this stage, it doesn’t seem likely. Some independents have confidence and supply agreements with the government, and don’t want an election any time before next year.
The only rule on the last sitting day of the year is anything can happen. But a formal no-confidence vote seems unlikely ... as of now.

So while you all marinate on no confidence and de facto no confidence motions, here are a couple more of your snapshots of the 2018 political year:

Sophie: I think we’re in a big political moment right now. The far right of the Liberal party have revealed themselves as primarily preoccupied with fighting culture wars on climate, sexuality, gender and immigration – and willing to go to extraordinary, destructive lengths to pursue their ideological ends. The Labor party have revealed themselves emboldened to stand up only when they don’t believe they face any electoral threat in doing so (hello, Adani); and the Australian people have shown that grassroots organising and collective action is well and truly alive and kicking.

From the many many rallies calling for refugees to be brought here to safety, to the extraordinary efforts of LGBTI activists and their allies to ensure a YES vote in the destructive plebiscite (one year on, I know), to the grassroots organising of Democracy In Colour activists fighting race-baiting and division during the Victorian election, the mobilisation of women in Queensland to see abortion finally decriminalised, to the persistent efforts of First Nations people, farmers, climate activists and young people to protect the climate and stop Adani ... this year has had some awful, depressing political moments; but it has also been a year of community power.

Ivy: I don’t think I will ever forget or forgive the Coalition for suspending parliament on the day Malcolm Turnbull was deposed in order to avoid the scrutiny of the House – a shameful, undemocratic, action, as far as I was concerned.

Kate: At the beginning of the year it seemed that the composition of the Senate changed every week. Other than that, the many demonstrations of narcissism (mostly from the ‘Right’) are what I take from the year just passed.

Patricia: A standout for me was the Liberal party floundering in Victoria during the recent election campaign when we had a shocking incident in Melbourne with the owner of a famous coffee shop, Pellegrini’s, being killed. [Scott] Morrison couldn’t wait to make what he thought would be political gains from this incident, holding a press conference 50 metres from Pellegrini’s doorstep and preaching hatred and fear to the people of Victoria and the country. The voters gave Morrison their reply and decimated the Victorian Liberal party.

A sign I think that the worm has turned. A sign of hope for decency to be returned in this once-great country. A sign that Morrison will be the shortest-term PM that this country has seen in its history, after the federal election.

Scott: Simply everything the senator Penny Wong has said or done has been a highlight. Is that too gushy?

OK, let’s try this: 2018 highlight is senator Penny Wong’s reaction as the marriage equality result was revealed. It was a beautiful reminder that, after all the noise and agendas and distractions were removed, it was simply a question about people and their relationships. People matter.

Again, a government losing a vote on the floor happens – when it comes to procedure.

Legislative losses are very, very rare.

Stanley Bruce took that loss as a de facto loss of confidence, which is why he called the election.

This government doesn’t have to accept the loss as a no confidence. As the House practices lays out:

Withdrawal of confidence shown by defeat on other questions

The withdrawal by the House of its confidence in the government may be shown:

• By a direct vote of censure of or no confidence in the government.
• By defeat on an issue central to government policy or rejecting a legislative measure proposed by the government, the acceptance of which the government has declared to be of vital importance. Conversely, a vote by the House agreeing to a particular legislative measure or provision contrary to the advice and consent of the government could similarly be regarded as a matter of confidence. Following defeat a government may choose to resign, as in April and August 1904, 1929 and 1941 (see page 322), or to seek a direct vote of confidence.
• By defeat of the government on a vote not necessarily central to government policy but accepted by the government as one of confidence, as in 1905, 1908, 1909 and 1931 (see page 322).

A defeat of the government in the House of Representatives does not necessarily mean it has lost the confidence of the House or that it ought to resign. As Jennings states:

It must not be thought … that a single defeat necessarily demands either resignation or dissolution. Such a result follows only where the defeat implies loss of confidence … [259]

What a government will treat as a matter of sufficient importance to demand resignation or dissolution is, primarily, a question for the government. The opposition can always test the opinion of the House by a vote of no confidence. No government [in the United Kingdom] since 1832 has failed to regard such a motion, if carried, as decisive. A House whose opinion was rejected has always at hand the ultimate remedy of the refusal of supply.[260]

Some more of your snapshots:

Greg: The major turnaround and thus lowlight of the year was the brain snap of the Liberal party in August. They shot themselves in the foot and have continued to do so while their feet are in their mouths since ... fancy thinking the public would wear Peter Dutton when their best marketing politician Malcolm Turnbull was actually making headway.

They even managed to sideline their best-performing minister, Julie Bishop, and lost the balance of power as well.

They lost a safe blue-ribbon seat and helped force the Victorian Liberal party into four more years in exile and possibly longer.

They killed the chance for a climate and emissions/energy policy and ruined the chances of a win by the Coalition in NSW. And what was it all for? Payback by the far right? ...

The highlight for the year was the children’s strike for climate change that was only soured by conservative politicians who abused them for giving voice to their concerns.

These children in a very short time will vote and breathe a new life into politics which badly needs resuscitating.

The regret of the year has to be Manus and Nauru but it has been the same regret for nearly a decade.

Harry: I want to say that there are many who post BTL who have been standouts with their wit, drollery, their astute observations and sometimes biting comments. There has been many a coffee spurt caused by the usual suspects. Their contributions always enlivens the blog and infuriates the conservatives, which can only be a Good Thing. I hope every one has a safe and happy holiday period. With only 10 sitting days in eight months coming up we politics tragics are going to go through withdrawal symptoms without Politics Live.

Tony Abbott will be delivering his Indigenous Blueprint at 9.30 in the House.

Compulsory reading, obvs.

The encryption bill debate will come to the House in the first session this morning, where it will be amended as per request of the PJCIS committee.

The government amendments will be moved in the House and then once it is amended (which it will be because Labor is onboard) then it goes to the Senate and then the security agencies can start sending out all those notices.

Joy.

Anyone who missed the encryption report being tabled, you’ll find it here.

See – WORRIED

So, where are we on the asylum seeker medical evacuation bill?

The motion to bring the amendments to the Migration Act back to the Senate, with the medical evacuations (with all the amendments including ministerial signoff, border protection and national security controls yadda yadda) has to pop up between 12.45pm and 1.50pm (just before Senate question time).

Once passed there (and it looks to be happening with 39 votes out of the 76 Senate votes) it will head to the House after question time.

If all the crossbenchers (bar Bob Katter) vote with Labor and the Greens, you are looking at 75 to 74 (minus whatever pairs are going on) and that’s the simple majority they need to have it passed.

This is not a suspension of standing orders, which needs the absolute majority (75 plus one). It just needs more people on one side than the other. And that is why the government is so worried.

Alan Jones and Scott Morrison also discussed Jim Molan, who was in an unwinnable position on the Liberals’ Senate ticket, made it to the Senate because none of our parliamentarians apparently knew where they came from, or how the constitution would deal with that, and is now back to an unwinnable position on the Senate ticket. (Again, thank you Gareth Hutchens.)

Alan Jones: The Liberal party don’t want him, they put him in an unwinnable position.

This has angered people enormously, you’d be aware of that. What of the future, what can you tell our listeners of the future of Senator Jim Molan?

Morrison: Well, as you know Jim stood for that selection and it was the largest –

Jones: And it was factionalised and stacked against him …

Morrison: It was the largest Senate selection I think that has ever been held.

Jones: He spoke brilliantly.

Morrison: There were over 500 people. There was a whole bunch of people actually in the very conservative part of our party who didn’t show up, and that’s a bit strange as to why they didn’t show up and vote for him on that occasion.

Jones: But you understand this is our fastest-growing demographic, the over-65s, 280,000 military veterans, and they are angry. What’s his future?

Morrison: Well, where there’s an opportunity for Jim to continue to serve I’m sure he’ll put his hand up for something like that.

Jones: No, no, no. Well, you put your hand up for him.

Morrison: Well, I was the one who introduced him into the Liberal party, Alan.

Jones: *laughs* We’re beaten by time, we could talk until midday.

Morrison: I’m a big supporter of Jim but, I mean, he’s gotta be elected in accordance with the party process.

Jones: Yeah, he’s got to meet the demands of the factions. You know that.

Richard Di Natale said he was “reasonably confident” there was the support for the Nauru and Manus Island asylum seeker evacuations to occur.

The government keeps telling us the “people smugglers will start right up again”. (This was Paul Fletcher, the latest government minister to have a journalist forget what he was responsible for live on air, after Fran Kelly forgetting Angus Taylor’s name on radio yesterday. It’s not our fault. There have been so many ministerial changes and we are all tired.)

Fletcher told Sky that Labor was weakening border security by “playing games” in the parliament.

But the government has also been telling us they have been removing children and their families from Nauru and want them all gone by the end of the year, and as far as I have seen, the borders haven’t crumbled.

The amended Kerryn Phelps plan would need two doctors to sign off on a medical transfer. Then the minister would have to sign off on it. If the minister doesn’t, he or she would have to publish their reasons within three days, although the minister does have the power to reject transfers on national security or border protection grounds, which is a pretty broad field.

If rejected, an independent health advisory panel would review the decision.

Labor wants the minister to still control the powers (David Coleman), but put the focus on the advice of doctors.

The government is freaking out because it would also apply to the men on Manus Island, where there are about 500 refugees (granted refugee status) and 126 asylum seekers (still waiting to be assessed) and that is something everyone has been fairly happy to ignore up to this point.

There are 10 children still on Nauru. Four have been accepted for resettlement in the United States and four others will be staying on the island with their families (we are told by choice).

While we are dealing with the day’s shenanigans, I’ll also be dropping in some of the notes you have sent through about what stood out to you about 2018 in Australian politics. Apologies if I don’t get to yours, but rest assured I will be reading them all.

From Paul: one that really grabbed (and moved) me was Susan Lamb’s very emotional speech about the circumstances of her citizenship mess back in February. It was a potent reminder of the very human lives behind the corflute facades.

John: That the “Liberals” dumped their leader for being too moderate. Too, well ... , liberal, in fact. Extraordinary!

Stephen: Having stayed at home to watch the TV coverage of Malcom Turnbull’s overthrow, upon being made aware that the unrecognisable man at Malcolm Turnbull’s side was Arthur Sinodinos, who must have struggled to Canberra, to support his friend on that dark day, emotion got the better of me and I totally lost it at that point.

Jasper: Regardless, because of how laughable of a job these old LNP dinosaurs have been doing, its given me serious ambition to attempt a political career. So in the rare chance I end up in State or Federal Parliament in my future, thanks for initiating that.

Regarding what I will remember from 2018, it will definitely be Turnbull, Frydenberg and Morrison giving half a billion dollars to a 6-man company with serious ties to the fossil-fuel industry; considering that was the mouse that broke the camel’s back for me to jump into Australia’s politics from the deep end.

For those wondering how we got to this point on the Nauru bill, let’s just pop back yesterday when this was happening, as reported by Katharine Murphy.

Tim Storer is currently attempting to build numbers for a motion that would allow a government proposal, an amendment to the Migration Act, to come back on for debate in the chamber tonight.

In the event that succeeds (and Labor would need to support it for it to succeed) there will be an attempt to insert extra amendments that would allow people to be taken off Nauru in certain conditions – so mirroring the Phelps bill with some extra conditions Labor is insisting on: that people being removed on medical advice need to have passed a character test and not be the subject of a pre-existing adverse assessment by Asio.

The object of this exercise is to try to insert these new provisions in the Migration Act and get a motion of concurrence to the House of Representatives, where a simple majority is required to bring on debate in the lower house.

So the success of this plan does largely rely on when this gets through the Senate – timing is everything. It has to happen with enough time that it can get to the House and be dealt with, which would be early to mid afternoon.

Michael McCormack Michael McCormacked his way through a Sky interview this morning, where he too said the medical evacuation bill would water down the nation’s border security policies, despite the government also removing children from Nauru under medical advice.

That’s different, apparently, because – reasons.

Scott Morrison started his morning on 2GB, talking to Alan Jones. Here is how the conversation on the Nauru bill played out, as transcribed by Gareth Hutchens, who took one for the team and volunteered to do it, after seeing my face this morning:

Alan Jones: There’s talk of a humiliating defeat for you, and a vote is going to take place in the parliament on what I might loosely call the Phelps bill – the woman’s been there for five minutes.

To put this simply, Labor and the Greens are now voting to say if you’re on Nauru or Manus Island you can come to Australia on the advice of two doctors. Is this starting up the people smuggling trade? Here is Labor opening the door. There’s a powerful political point for you.

Scott Morrison: Yes it is. It’s exactly what it is. I mean Labor, as we know, will always get rid of temporary protection visas. That’s something I had introduced, restored, when I was immigration minister.

Remember, we had three key components of what we did to stop the boats: temporary protection visas, offshore processing, and turning back boats.

They already said they’re not going to do temporary protection visas and, in this bill today, they will be abandoning offshore processing as we know it.

It is a green light, coming from Labor teaming up with the Greens, to basically completely crumble offshore processing in this country. And they’re doing it for one pathetic reason. To try to play some games in the House of Representatives. It shows a complete and total, um, lack of commitment in the need for strong border protection in this country.

They wonder why they let 50,000 people in on 800 boats. It’s because of this. They don’t believe in having stronger borders. This is an absolutely destructive and irresponsible and reckless move by the Labor party and it tells you everything you’ve always known about them and border protection. They cannot be trusted. They are weak as when it comes to border protection.

Jones: You and Tony Abbott were responsible for turning back the boats, I’m quite surprised that a party trying to win government would play to the strengths of its opponent. This is a powerful point for you.

Just for our listeners to understand simply, Labor and the Greens today will, it’s said, team up with key independents to allow refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island to be transferred to Australia on the advice of two doctors.

So the old people smuggling trade will be smiling, won’t they?

Morrison: Oh, they’ll be smiling – and they’ll be hoping there’s more to come.

Jones: Will you lose this vote? Is it clear that you’ll lose the vote?

Morrison: Not 100% clear, you know, we’re in a minority government so we’re working hard to try and defeat it.

But the other thing to bear in mind in all of this is that the Labor party think they’ve got this election in the bag, and this is on this side of the election, in opposition. Imagine what they’ll be like on the other side, in government. This is a team of people who let 50,000 people on 800 boats; 1,200 people died; 6,000 children went into detention. Now they can’t kid themselves this is about getting children off Nauru. There are only 10 children on Nauru. Only 10. There are four of those children who actually don’t wish to leave.

Jones: There are 65 medical officers on Nauru, aren’t there?

Morrison: Exactly.

Jones: Has Kerryn Phelps ever been to Nauru?

Morrison: Ah, not to my knowledge, no.

Jones: *scoffs*

Morrison: And there are people voting on this bill in the Senate who we’ve offered briefings to from the security agencies and they’ve refused them.

Jones: Isn’t it offensive to the people of Nauru, to the Nauruans, to start telling the world that everyone who’s living there is unsafe, unhealthy and uncared for?

Morrison: Yes, it is terribly offensive. And it’s actually potentially racist. And this is why I’ve never understood why Australians would be so disrespectful to Nauruans. Um, so we’re not talking about kids here. What we’re talking about is single adult males, some of which won’t even be refugees, sitting over in Manus Island, you know, and we’re not talking about, you know, people you’d happily have just come and live next door.

Jones: Well, it’s the psychology of it as well, it’s the asylum seeker trade see a window now to get into Australia via the backdoor, that’s the psychology of it.

Morrison: Well, you look for the weakness. And the weakness is Bill Shorten. And the weakness is Bill Shorten on the economy. And the weakness is Bill Shorten on taxes. And the weakness is Bill Shorten on high electricity. I mean, Bill Shorten is the weakness.