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| Mal Brough to face fresh parliamentary attack on the final sitting day – politics live | Mal Brough to face fresh parliamentary attack on the final sitting day – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 10.43pm GMT22:43 | |
| Turnbull says if there is a call for further Australian military involvement in the Middle East that will certainly be considered. | |
| But. | |
| The goal is to see – from the Australian government’s point of view – we would like to see other like-minded countries making a larger contribution. Australia is making a very large contribution there relative to others given the size of our economy and our proximity to the conflict. | |
| 10.41pm GMT22:41 | |
| Turnbull delivers his Christmas valedictory | |
| I’ve asked Daniel Hurst to deliver a guest post taking us through the tax deal because I know you are interested by right now I have to keep going. I’ll post that soon. | |
| For now, the prime minister is delivering his Christmas valedictory in the chamber. He’s opening on a sombre note. | |
| In 2015, there have been great challenges to our security, both at home and abroad. It is about a year since the Martin Place siege that shocked the nation and shocked the city in which my wife and I live, Sydney, and many other members live. It is only weeks ago that Curtis Cheng, the police worker, was murdered in Parramatta. | |
| The battle against violent extremism, against terrorism, is one that all nations are now engaged in. In my recent travels to many summits, I have had the opportunity to discuss with many other leaders the way in which we can better work together to cooperate in a military sense. | |
| There is an important military dimension. The single most important objective in the battle against the extremism, the violent extremism as practised by Daesh is to defeat them in the field. To defeat them in the field in Syria and Iraq. That has a military dimension and, of course, a political dimension. | |
| We are very keenly interested in securing a stronger commitment both on the military side of this solution and on the political side. But as I have discussed in the national security statement I made last week, it is a very complex environment and one where the limitations of military power have to be recognised and the complexity of the political solution has to be recognised as well. | |
| 10.34pm GMT22:34 | |
| Meanwhile, in another hemisphere, after a marathon parliamentary debate overnight, my UK colleague Patrick Wintour has some breaking news. | |
| The UK will launch airstrikes in Syria. | |
| Commons authorises extending RAF air strikes from Iraq to Syria by 397 votes to 223. | |
| 10.30pm GMT22:30 | |
| What could possibly go wrong with this gesture once the interwebz gets hold of it? I don’t know .. maybe .. | |
| This image is bound to come in handy, right? Mal Brough pic by @mpbowers @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/7JsMgLgvHS | |
| 10.23pm GMT22:23 | |
| I guess you do put your hands in the air when you are riding front seat of a roller coaster, don’t you? Not the gesture I would have chosen in Mal Brough’s current position, but then I am a notorious wowser. | |
| 10.20pm GMT22:20 | |
| As I said before .. ho, ho .. ho .. | |
| Mal Brough arrives for a division to shut down opposition attempts at a censure motion @murpharoo @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/BvNJwJr2Vc | |
| 10.19pm GMT22:19 | |
| The government is shutting this down as it did yesterday. Funnily enough the prime minister had planned to deliver his Christmas valedictory at 9.15. That clearly isn’t going to happen. Although it won’t be too late, given the efficiency of the gag now being applied. | |
| 10.16pm GMT22:16 | |
| For those interested, here’s the full text of this morning’s censure motion. | |
| That the House: | |
| 1. Notes that yesterday, the prime minister said in question time in relation to the special minister of state’s involvement in the Ashby affair: “The evidence or the information about them has been in the public domain for some time. There have been no new developments, no changes or additions to that material”; | |
| 2. Resolves that in making this statement, the prime minister ignored numerous new developments, namely: | |
| (a) The Australian Federal Police conducting a raid on the special minister of state’s home in relation to the minister’s involvement in the Ashby affair; | |
| (b) The special minister of state misleading the parliament on three separate occasions this week; | |
| i. On Tuesday in question time when the special minister of state was asked about statements he had made in relation to the Ashby affair, the minister said “In relation to the 60 Minutes interview, what was put to air was not the full question”. But On Channel Nine Television News on Tuesday, in a story by journalist Laurie Oakes, the original vision of the 60 Minutes interview was played and makes it clear that there were no words omitted which could in any way be considered part of the question the minister was asked; | |
| ii. On Wednesday, the special minister of state made a statement on indulgence in the House in which he claimed during his interview on 60 Minutes, he was answering a different part of the question which prompted his admission when there was clearly only one question asked; | |
| iii. On Wednesday in question time when the special minister of state was asked the exact same question that he was asked on 60 Minutes, he changed his answer from “Yes, I did” and said “No”. This was not withstanding the subsequent questions in the 60 Minutes interview which clearly affirmed his statement “Yes, I did”, | |
| 3. Therefore censures the prime minister for failing to enforce his own criteria for taking action and sacking the special minister of state for repeatedly misleading the parliament and breaching the prime minister’s own statement of ministerial standards. | |
| 10.07pm GMT22:07 | 10.07pm GMT22:07 |
| The prime minister doesn’t have the character to put this to an end. | The prime minister doesn’t have the character to put this to an end. |
| He doesn’t have the judgment ... | He doesn’t have the judgment ... |
| This is Mark Dreyfus, at the dispatch box. | This is Mark Dreyfus, at the dispatch box. |
| Resources minister Josh Frydenberg, in the Pyne chair this morning, is moving Dreyfus be no longer heard. | Resources minister Josh Frydenberg, in the Pyne chair this morning, is moving Dreyfus be no longer heard. |
| 10.03pm GMT22:03 | 10.03pm GMT22:03 |
| Labor kicks of today's parliamentary assault on Brough | Labor kicks of today's parliamentary assault on Brough |
| Meanwhile in the House, the shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus is kicking off the Brough batting. A censure motion is now underway. | Meanwhile in the House, the shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus is kicking off the Brough batting. A censure motion is now underway. |
| Ho, ho, ho. | Ho, ho, ho. |
| 10.00pm GMT22:00 | 10.00pm GMT22:00 |
| Breaking: Peace in our time on tax, courtesy of the Greens | Breaking: Peace in our time on tax, courtesy of the Greens |
| I flagged earlier talk around the building that the government and the Greens looked to be coming to terms on the multinational tax/transparency legislation – a development that would allow the government to save its budget measure. | I flagged earlier talk around the building that the government and the Greens looked to be coming to terms on the multinational tax/transparency legislation – a development that would allow the government to save its budget measure. |
| The whole saga of Mal Brough has largely obscured it, but truth is it’s been a really bad week for the government on the business front: they’ve pulled the medicare safety net bill, a superannuation governance bill, totally amended a VET Fee Help bill – and up until last night looked like losing their key multinational tax budget measure. | The whole saga of Mal Brough has largely obscured it, but truth is it’s been a really bad week for the government on the business front: they’ve pulled the medicare safety net bill, a superannuation governance bill, totally amended a VET Fee Help bill – and up until last night looked like losing their key multinational tax budget measure. |
| But the Greens will, this morning, give the treasurer some good news. | But the Greens will, this morning, give the treasurer some good news. |
| The Greens have secured two amendments: | The Greens have secured two amendments: |
| The Greens will sell this as a victory for tax transparency. I predict Labor and others will not characterise today’s agreement in quite those terms. | The Greens will sell this as a victory for tax transparency. I predict Labor and others will not characterise today’s agreement in quite those terms. |
| 9.22pm GMT21:22 | 9.22pm GMT21:22 |
| Yes I know there are many serious issues today, and they will all be given due care and attention, but in the spirit of muck-up day, and the spirit of seasonal giving, let me share BuzzFeed’s 51 WTF things that happened in Australian politics in 2015. | Yes I know there are many serious issues today, and they will all be given due care and attention, but in the spirit of muck-up day, and the spirit of seasonal giving, let me share BuzzFeed’s 51 WTF things that happened in Australian politics in 2015. |
| I laughed out loud more than once. | I laughed out loud more than once. |
| 9.09pm GMT21:09 | 9.09pm GMT21:09 |
| Hello good citizens of Politics Live | Hello good citizens of Politics Live |
| Good morning and welcome to the final sitting day for 2015. Yes, we’ve actually arrived there. Hard to believe that, but it’s true. | Good morning and welcome to the final sitting day for 2015. Yes, we’ve actually arrived there. Hard to believe that, but it’s true. |
| Labor is polishing the rhetorical ammunition for a final go at the special minister of state, Mal Brough, before MPs make haste for the airport. Readers with me yesterday will know that I now characterise Brough as being in a post-plausible state. There’s really no question in my mind that he should step aside while police are investigating his conduct during the James Ashby/Peter Slipper affair both as a point of principle (my interest) and for the good of the government (the political calculation, which is the government’s interest). | Labor is polishing the rhetorical ammunition for a final go at the special minister of state, Mal Brough, before MPs make haste for the airport. Readers with me yesterday will know that I now characterise Brough as being in a post-plausible state. There’s really no question in my mind that he should step aside while police are investigating his conduct during the James Ashby/Peter Slipper affair both as a point of principle (my interest) and for the good of the government (the political calculation, which is the government’s interest). |
| Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese has told the ABC this morning Brough must go because he misled the parliament. The special minister of state has lynched himself on the procedural boo boo, is Albanese’s argument, but not only that. Albanese says the current police investigation is a very serious matter. Getting a staffer to procure a diary is a crime, Albanese says. (Bear in mind Brough denied that actually happened in parliament yesterday – a denial which contradicts an unambiguous statement he appears to have made to 60 Minutes in 2014 that he wanted to purse the diary because he believed Peter Slipper had committed a crime.) | Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese has told the ABC this morning Brough must go because he misled the parliament. The special minister of state has lynched himself on the procedural boo boo, is Albanese’s argument, but not only that. Albanese says the current police investigation is a very serious matter. Getting a staffer to procure a diary is a crime, Albanese says. (Bear in mind Brough denied that actually happened in parliament yesterday – a denial which contradicts an unambiguous statement he appears to have made to 60 Minutes in 2014 that he wanted to purse the diary because he believed Peter Slipper had committed a crime.) |
| If you are late to the in’s and out’s of this whole saga, and can’t make sense of the various increments of this week, my colleague Daniel Hurst has put together an excellent backgrounder which you can read here. | If you are late to the in’s and out’s of this whole saga, and can’t make sense of the various increments of this week, my colleague Daniel Hurst has put together an excellent backgrounder which you can read here. |
| So Brough remains the focus. But today the chambers will also be running full tilt to deal with the business of the parliament. I haven’t actually checked (perhaps there’s been a change of policy so apologies if I’m misleading you) but today we conventionally see the valedictories to the 2015 political year given – these are Christmas speeches in the chamber that are often quite fun. | So Brough remains the focus. But today the chambers will also be running full tilt to deal with the business of the parliament. I haven’t actually checked (perhaps there’s been a change of policy so apologies if I’m misleading you) but today we conventionally see the valedictories to the 2015 political year given – these are Christmas speeches in the chamber that are often quite fun. |
| On the legislative front there was a draft document circulating last night that seeks to change the senate order of business for today in order to get the last measures through. The priority is the citizenship laws, which should pass today. | On the legislative front there was a draft document circulating last night that seeks to change the senate order of business for today in order to get the last measures through. The priority is the citizenship laws, which should pass today. |
| Early evening yesterday I was under the impression the government had resolved to pull its multinational tax/transparency bill. Thus far, a standoff between the two houses of parliament has threatened to scuttle a government-backed crackdown on multinational tax avoidance and a Labor-backed plan to increase tax transparency. But then late last night I heard the government was in negotiations with the Greens to secure passage. The Greens party room is meeting this morning as we go live. I don’t have specifics yet. My colleague Daniel Hurst is also chasing details. We’ll see how that goes, and I’ll keep you in touch with developments. | Early evening yesterday I was under the impression the government had resolved to pull its multinational tax/transparency bill. Thus far, a standoff between the two houses of parliament has threatened to scuttle a government-backed crackdown on multinational tax avoidance and a Labor-backed plan to increase tax transparency. But then late last night I heard the government was in negotiations with the Greens to secure passage. The Greens party room is meeting this morning as we go live. I don’t have specifics yet. My colleague Daniel Hurst is also chasing details. We’ll see how that goes, and I’ll keep you in touch with developments. |
| You don’t have to wait for me, however. You can go immediately to the comment thread, which is wide open for your business – or if so inclined, you can give us a shout on the Twits. I’m @murpharoo and Mikearoo’s @mpbowers | You don’t have to wait for me, however. You can go immediately to the comment thread, which is wide open for your business – or if so inclined, you can give us a shout on the Twits. I’m @murpharoo and Mikearoo’s @mpbowers |
| Break out the fruit cake. Here comes Thursday. | Break out the fruit cake. Here comes Thursday. |