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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2015/oct/22/eric-abetz-declares-renewed-marriage-equality-push-an-ambush-politics-live
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| Eric Abetz declares renewed marriage equality push an 'ambush' – politics live | Eric Abetz declares renewed marriage equality push an 'ambush' – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 11.53pm BST23:53 | |
| Emoji gate | |
| Estimates hearings are continuing, I haven’t quite got to Labor and the sharing economy yet but I will shortly, and the debate over the government’s proposed changes to the family benefits scheme is continuing. I suspect we’ll hear more about that over the course of today. | |
| Estimates, in the foreign affairs committee. Labor’s senate leader, Penny Wong. | |
| Q: Does DFAT ever use emojis to communicate in diplomatic negotiations? | |
| DFAT secretary Peter Varghese isn’t sure. | |
| Liberal senator Chris Back. | |
| There’s a bit of confusion about what this term means. | |
| George Brandis can assist with that. | |
| It’s the smiley faces and so forth, he notes. | |
| A junior DFAT official says he’s not aware of emojis being used. | |
| Wong: | |
| An emoji free zone? | |
| Liberal senator Michael Ronaldson says emojis do save time when texting, and space. | |
| Wong: | |
| That’s because you are a binary kind of guy. | |
| (You all know the foreign minister Julie Bishop likes emojis, don’t you?) | |
| 11.31pm BST23:31 | |
| Who says politics is a dog-eat-dog business? | |
| Jamie first sat, then stood, then ran, then was stretchered off. | |
| Updated at 11.49pm BST | |
| 11.27pm BST23:27 | 11.27pm BST23:27 |
| Eric Abetz has moved from the ABC to Sky News. Given he just told the ABC a plebiscite should be followed by a conscience vote, host Kieran Gilbert wants to know if he’ll accept the outcome of the plebiscite if the people vote yes. | |
| Abetz isn’t entirely definitive on that point. He compares plebiscites to election results. When people voted for Kevin Rudd in 2007, he accepted that. When Julia Gillard formed a minority government in 2010 he accepted that. | |
| Eric Abetz: | Eric Abetz: |
| If the plebiscite is clear and the questions are clear then the Australian people will have had their say. | If the plebiscite is clear and the questions are clear then the Australian people will have had their say. |
| It sounds positive but it’s still ambiguous. | It sounds positive but it’s still ambiguous. |
| Eric Abetz: | Eric Abetz: |
| The parliament will need to take into account the view of the plebiscite, there’s no doubt about that. | The parliament will need to take into account the view of the plebiscite, there’s no doubt about that. |
| (See what I mean?) | (See what I mean?) |
| Updated at 11.50pm BST | |
| 11.10pm BST23:10 | 11.10pm BST23:10 |
| Sitting, standing, running | Sitting, standing, running |
| Back, briefly, to Jamie Briggs, who first sat, then stood, then ran – but in no universe broke a piece of commonwealth property on the night Tony Abbott lost the prime ministership. | Back, briefly, to Jamie Briggs, who first sat, then stood, then ran – but in no universe broke a piece of commonwealth property on the night Tony Abbott lost the prime ministership. |
| We thought we’d recreate the scene. | We thought we’d recreate the scene. |
| Another working theory on the running – Briggs breaks away after first packing down with rugby tragics Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey. | Another working theory on the running – Briggs breaks away after first packing down with rugby tragics Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey. |
| Samantha Maiden, the Sunday correspondent for News Corp, can be seen in the background, taking notes. | Samantha Maiden, the Sunday correspondent for News Corp, can be seen in the background, taking notes. |
| Updated at 11.20pm BST | Updated at 11.20pm BST |
| 11.04pm BST23:04 | 11.04pm BST23:04 |
| Shalailah Medhora | Shalailah Medhora |
| “What’s the point of holding a plebiscite if then after that plebiscite Malcolm Turnbull gives Coalition members a conscience vote?” the shadow assistant education minister, Amanda Rishworth, has just told Sky News. “The question of whether or not there will be a conscience vote after the plebiscite has still not been resolved,” she said. “He couldn’t answer that question in question time.” | “What’s the point of holding a plebiscite if then after that plebiscite Malcolm Turnbull gives Coalition members a conscience vote?” the shadow assistant education minister, Amanda Rishworth, has just told Sky News. “The question of whether or not there will be a conscience vote after the plebiscite has still not been resolved,” she said. “He couldn’t answer that question in question time.” |
| Updated at 11.21pm BST | Updated at 11.21pm BST |
| 10.42pm BST22:42 | 10.42pm BST22:42 |
| Not happy Eric | Not happy Eric |
| To marriage equality now in more depth. | To marriage equality now in more depth. |
| Let’s step through this carefully. | Let’s step through this carefully. |
| Yesterday in the House, the prime minister was asked a question on the plebiscite that will be held after the next federal election. | Yesterday in the House, the prime minister was asked a question on the plebiscite that will be held after the next federal election. |
| Let’s recap that. | Let’s recap that. |
| Q: My question is to the prime minister. I refer to the prime minister’s support for a plebiscite on marriage equality. Will the national result of the plebiscite be binding on Coalition members or will individual Coalition members be bound by the results in their individual seats or will the vote not be binding on Coalition members at all? | Q: My question is to the prime minister. I refer to the prime minister’s support for a plebiscite on marriage equality. Will the national result of the plebiscite be binding on Coalition members or will individual Coalition members be bound by the results in their individual seats or will the vote not be binding on Coalition members at all? |
| Malcolm Turnbull: | Malcolm Turnbull: |
| That is a very good question and I thank you for it. Well, I think it’s fair – I think it’s an absolutely reasonable request and the answer is that the consequence of a yes vote in the plebiscite will be that same-sex marriage will be legal in Australia. | That is a very good question and I thank you for it. Well, I think it’s fair – I think it’s an absolutely reasonable request and the answer is that the consequence of a yes vote in the plebiscite will be that same-sex marriage will be legal in Australia. |
| As I pointed out yesterday, this answer from Turnbull is a complete fudge. He was asked about the mechanics of the plebiscite and the aftermath and he failed to engage on the substance – because engaging on the substance is like a red rag to a conservative bull (as it were). | As I pointed out yesterday, this answer from Turnbull is a complete fudge. He was asked about the mechanics of the plebiscite and the aftermath and he failed to engage on the substance – because engaging on the substance is like a red rag to a conservative bull (as it were). |
| But the definitive Turnbull statement of principle – a yes vote in the plebiscite equals a yes vote in the parliament – was evidently enough to raise the blood pressure in certain quarters of the government. Why? Because marriage equality opponents in the government don’t see the “people’s vote” as a means of securing marriage equality, they see it as a means of delaying any change, and better still, killing it entirely. | But the definitive Turnbull statement of principle – a yes vote in the plebiscite equals a yes vote in the parliament – was evidently enough to raise the blood pressure in certain quarters of the government. Why? Because marriage equality opponents in the government don’t see the “people’s vote” as a means of securing marriage equality, they see it as a means of delaying any change, and better still, killing it entirely. |
| Separately to Turnbull’s comments yesterday, Warren Entsch is trying to persuade Turnbull to agree to legislation in this parliament for the plebiscite that would trigger a change in the Marriage Act if the people ultimately vote yes some time after the next election. Rolling out change (or not) in this way gets around the constitutional difficulties associated with binding future parliaments. | |
| This is mission creep of course, and party conservatives weren’t born yesterday. | This is mission creep of course, and party conservatives weren’t born yesterday. |
| So this morning, conservatives are rallying, huffing and puffing. | So this morning, conservatives are rallying, huffing and puffing. |
| Tasmanian Liberal senator Eric Abetz has just told the ABC this is a “thought bubble and an ambush to boot”. Abetz says the position of the Coalition party room is clear: there will be no change to the party’s position on marriage in this term of government. A plebiscite will be held after the next election and the parliament will respond with a free vote. Abetz says of the renewed push, these are not actions that will help party unity. He’s noted that his colleague Warren Entsch “spends an inordinate amount of time on this issue and good luck to him”. | Tasmanian Liberal senator Eric Abetz has just told the ABC this is a “thought bubble and an ambush to boot”. Abetz says the position of the Coalition party room is clear: there will be no change to the party’s position on marriage in this term of government. A plebiscite will be held after the next election and the parliament will respond with a free vote. Abetz says of the renewed push, these are not actions that will help party unity. He’s noted that his colleague Warren Entsch “spends an inordinate amount of time on this issue and good luck to him”. |
| Abetz has been joined by LNP senator Matt Canavan and ACT senator Zed Seselja. Both Canavan and Seselja say the present parliament should not pass legislation binding a future parliament. But unlike Abetz, his Senate colleagues are both signalling they’ll ultimately accept what the voters decide. In principle at least. | Abetz has been joined by LNP senator Matt Canavan and ACT senator Zed Seselja. Both Canavan and Seselja say the present parliament should not pass legislation binding a future parliament. But unlike Abetz, his Senate colleagues are both signalling they’ll ultimately accept what the voters decide. In principle at least. |
| Updated at 11.40pm BST | |
| 10.11pm BST22:11 | 10.11pm BST22:11 |
| Hello hello | Hello hello |
| Good morning everyone and welcome to Thursday in Canberra. Marriage equality is back on the agenda, courtesy of the prime minster saying both nothing and too much (from the point of view of conservatives) in an answer to a question during question time yesterday. Something is stirring in the morning. Thought bubbles and ambushes at 20 paces. More of that very shortly. | Good morning everyone and welcome to Thursday in Canberra. Marriage equality is back on the agenda, courtesy of the prime minster saying both nothing and too much (from the point of view of conservatives) in an answer to a question during question time yesterday. Something is stirring in the morning. Thought bubbles and ambushes at 20 paces. More of that very shortly. |
| It has been a big week for policy, which is a most welcome development. We’ve had the government’s response to the Murray review, we’ve had a revamped effort on family benefits, the major parties have come to a handshake on the China free-trade deal, and today, Labor will join the fray with a policy on the sharing economy. I’ll bring you some key points on that shortly. | It has been a big week for policy, which is a most welcome development. We’ve had the government’s response to the Murray review, we’ve had a revamped effort on family benefits, the major parties have come to a handshake on the China free-trade deal, and today, Labor will join the fray with a policy on the sharing economy. I’ll bring you some key points on that shortly. |
| But given the close reader interest this week in the fate of a marble table smashed in the cabinet anteroom during a farewell for Tony Abbott on the night he lost the top job – I can’t resist opening with this precious exchange. | But given the close reader interest this week in the fate of a marble table smashed in the cabinet anteroom during a farewell for Tony Abbott on the night he lost the top job – I can’t resist opening with this precious exchange. |
| Jamie Briggs, who appeared in a wheelchair the morning after the Abbott farewell hijinks, has been the fall guy for the busted furniture, particularly as he, initially, attempted to fudge the reasons why he was in the wheelchair. | Jamie Briggs, who appeared in a wheelchair the morning after the Abbott farewell hijinks, has been the fall guy for the busted furniture, particularly as he, initially, attempted to fudge the reasons why he was in the wheelchair. |
| Yesterday he faced the following grilling on Adelaide radio. I’ll let this transcript speak for itself, but look for the following keywords: party, event, sitting, standing, running. | Yesterday he faced the following grilling on Adelaide radio. I’ll let this transcript speak for itself, but look for the following keywords: party, event, sitting, standing, running. |
| Q: Jamie Briggs you were there at the party, who broke the table? | Q: Jamie Briggs you were there at the party, who broke the table? |
| Jamie Briggs: | Jamie Briggs: |
| I wasn’t there when that happened. I’d gone by then. | I wasn’t there when that happened. I’d gone by then. |
| Q: Have you asked Joe Hockey who broke it? | Q: Have you asked Joe Hockey who broke it? |
| If Joe Hockey wants to talk about the party after I left, then he will do so. Towards the end of the night when whatever happened to the table happened – I can’t comment. | If Joe Hockey wants to talk about the party after I left, then he will do so. Towards the end of the night when whatever happened to the table happened – I can’t comment. |
| Q: You’ve been unfairly maligned? | Q: You’ve been unfairly maligned? |
| I have a little. What can I say Matt? | I have a little. What can I say Matt? |
| Q: It was a party? | Q: It was a party? |
| It wasn’t a party. A guy who loses the prime ministership ... it was really more sitting around having a chat and a discussion. As the night got a little later, I guess we were more standing up. | It wasn’t a party. A guy who loses the prime ministership ... it was really more sitting around having a chat and a discussion. As the night got a little later, I guess we were more standing up. |
| But some of the reports about dancing on tables and so on are just wrong. How the table broke, I actually don’t know I wasn’t there. I don’t have a piece of the table in my office. I had at that point limped back to my office if I can put it that way. | But some of the reports about dancing on tables and so on are just wrong. How the table broke, I actually don’t know I wasn’t there. I don’t have a piece of the table in my office. I had at that point limped back to my office if I can put it that way. |
| Q: But hang on, you hurt your foot the next day didn’t you? | Q: But hang on, you hurt your foot the next day didn’t you? |
| No, I said I’d hurt my knee running, which is true. | No, I said I’d hurt my knee running, which is true. |
| Q: What, that evening? | Q: What, that evening? |
| That’s right. | That’s right. |
| Q: Before you went to the party? | Q: Before you went to the party? |
| During some events if I can put it that way. | During some events if I can put it that way. |
| Q: Before you went to the party? | Q: Before you went to the party? |
| No, during the event. | No, during the event. |
| It wasn’t a party. | It wasn’t a party. |
| Q: During the event in the prime minister’s office? | Q: During the event in the prime minister’s office? |
| Ahhhh, well it wasn’t in the prime minister’s office. It’s now become folklore so we’ll let it stay as folklore. | Ahhhh, well it wasn’t in the prime minister’s office. It’s now become folklore so we’ll let it stay as folklore. |
| (Pause) | (Pause) |
| Mark Butler is sitting next me, why don’t you ask him some questions? | Mark Butler is sitting next me, why don’t you ask him some questions? |
| Mark Butler: | Mark Butler: |
| I think you are doing very well. | I think you are doing very well. |
| I hope you laughed as much as I did. Perhaps we could float one speculative, “running-at-the-event” scenario. (Hey Jamie, get the beer mate! Oh, OK then ... Crunch.) | I hope you laughed as much as I did. Perhaps we could float one speculative, “running-at-the-event” scenario. (Hey Jamie, get the beer mate! Oh, OK then ... Crunch.) |
| Seriousness is bearing down on all of us so let’s get chatting. The thread is open for your business and Mikeraoo and I are up and at it on the twits. He’s @mpbowers I’m @murpharoo | Seriousness is bearing down on all of us so let’s get chatting. The thread is open for your business and Mikeraoo and I are up and at it on the twits. He’s @mpbowers I’m @murpharoo |
| Don’t run with scissors children. Here comes Thursday. | Don’t run with scissors children. Here comes Thursday. |
| Updated at 10.56pm BST | Updated at 10.56pm BST |