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Coalition and Greens shut down debate on building watchdog bill – politics live
Coalition and Greens shut down debate on building watchdog bill – politics live
(35 minutes later)
1.56am GMT
2.32am GMT
01:56
02:32
Over at the National Press Club, Bill Shorten is working through his lunchtime address.
His concerns about filibustering notwithstanding, Parry waves Lazarus through. Lazarus wants to talk about coal seam gas. Hairless animals. Children with nosebleeds.
Six months after Mr Turnbull was sworn in, promising new economic leadership, he cannot even tell Australian definitively when the budget will be, much less tell us what his economic plan in the budget will be.
Distracted, interjecting across the chamber, Glenn Lazarus:
He has cut and run from the battlefield of ideas in Australian politics. Instead of the new respect he promised, he patronises our parliament, and our peoples.
Hey, you got 500 votes!
1.52am GMT
2.29am GMT
01:52
02:29
Ok, we are proceeding with the suspension. Muir is criticising the government and the Greens for not allowing the debate on the ABCC to proceed. He’s also launching a commentary on Senate voting reform.
Senate president Stephen Parry, penny clearly dropping.
Ricky Muir:
If I was allow this to continue, it could go on all day.
The problem is not the cross bench. Only a handful of bills have been rejected. By getting rid of a diverse senate, and wedging the Greens in a position of power, have fun!
(Yes, quite.)
That’s enough for the government Senate leader, George Brandis. He’s moved the gag.
2.26am GMT
1.47am GMT
02:26
01:47
In the Senate, Queenslander Glenn Lazarus is now proceeding with his procedural derailment. The government is attempting to shut this down quick sticks.
Ricky Muir is on his feet now. He’s attempting to suspend the standing orders. Muir is pulled up by the president. You’ll have to rephrase that, Stephen Parry says.
2.24am GMT
Muir is not entirely sure about procedure. He gets there in the end. Leave is not granted for Muir to make a statement.
02:24
Muir is still not entirely sure how to proceed.
Shorten joins the Greens in saying no to another Senate week in May
Can I suspend standing orders now?
Down at the NPC, Shorten is asked whether or not he’d support bringing the Senate back early to bring the budget forward a week?
1.41am GMT
Nope, nope, nope, says Shorten.
01:41
Bill Shorten:
The Greens are voting with the government to gag debate on the hours motion. We’d love to show you a picture of that but we can’t. The Senators don’t like having their pictures taken.
No, at this stage, with the information we have to hand, no.
1.37am GMT
Why should Australia have to pay another $5m because Mr Turnbull’s boxed himself into a corner?
01:37
2.20am GMT
In the red room, the government has brought forward the hours motion. The shouting is already underway because the government is moving that the question be put. No debate.
02:20
Labor’s senate leader, Penny Wong:
Atomic wedgies, everywhere you look.
This is the parliament of Australia, it is not a dictatorship. They will not even allow a debate.
Greens voting to prevent consideration of their own marriage equality bill. Using the gag.
1.33am GMT
2.18am GMT
01:33
02:18
Now a shocking clash. The Labor leader Bill Shorten is on his feet at the National Press Club, and the Senate has just stirred into life downstairs. I’ll do my best on the toggle. I’ll try and make the transitions as smooth as possible.
Class A senate banter.
1.32am GMT
"Shame on you! You're a disgrace to the other Wiggles" - @samdastyari heckles."You're Mr Bean!" @SenatorSurfer replies.
01:32
2.16am GMT
That’s a pretty high powered board. Quite impressive really. Why would the government announce that today? Today is a wall of sound. Nothing penetrates the wall of sound. Complete waste, and a tactical misjudgement.
02:16
1.27am GMT
Yep, capital C cranky, Labor’s senate leader.
01:27
Sen Di Natale just spoke on marriage equality. Now voting for a gag to stop me speaking. No principle, no conviction, no courage.
Given reporters are completely uninterested in the innovation board, Turnbull terminates the conversation. Genially.
2.14am GMT
1.26am GMT
02:14
01:26
Penny Wong, to Di Natale, at ear shattering volume.
Q: Is it your view you can recall the Senate earlier without the permission of the Senate? Is there a mechanism in your mind that exists that enables you to do that?
You don’t even have the courage to let me speak!
Christopher Pyne:
2.12am GMT
What’s important is the government gets on with the job of creating jobs and growth in our economy and transitioning from the old economy to a new economy.
02:12
Q: The same question to you prime minister: has the government received any advice you need the Senate to approve an extra sitting week?
In the Senate, LDP senator David Leyonhjelm is on his feet attempting to bring on consideration of the Greens bill on marriage equality. Let’s avoid a divisive and expensive plebiscite, he says, and legislate, like grown ups. Let’s avoid a situation where Australians are asked to vote on somebody else’s rights.
Malcolm Turnbull:
Greens leader Richard Di Natale responds in the debate. He says the Greens want this issue discussed on Thursday. He says there is no more fervent supporter of marriage equality than the Australian Greens. Di Natale says the Greens have been consistent on this issue, they haven’t sniffed the political winds.
I’m pleased you are interested in these issues but it’s not for me to give you advice, David, on matters of that kind.
Richard Di Natale:
Let me just say that the focus – the government’s focus is on ensuring that the Senate passes the Senate voting reform legislation this week.
The question is now for you Senator Wong. Will you, through your actions, through a vote on Thursday ... implement a democratic reform?
Q: How can you maintain any pressure on the cross bench with a threat of a double dissolution if the ABCC bill doesn’t go into the Senate until Budget day on May 10?
Are you playing wedge politics with an issue?
Malcolm Turnbull:
Penny Wong takes a point of order. She says if she’s not going to keep being gagged, she’d like a right of reply.
This is the stuff of columns. I retired as a journalist many years ago. I will leave it to you. You’re much more capable.
Richard Di Natale, continuing:
1.21am GMT
If they [Labor] are not prepared to do that, these are crocodile tears!
01:21
The government is pushing this through. Wong is ropable. She’s roaring her head off down there.
I couldn’t hear the first question to Turnbull but I suspect it was about the Greens saying this morning they won’t bring the parliament back in May. The prime minister says this week is about Senate voting reform. He says that’s the focus of the Senate. Being more democratic.
2.04am GMT
1.17am GMT
02:04
01:17
Back at the National Press Club, the Labor leader Bill Shorten.
Malcolm Turnbull confirms new appointments to the board of Innovation and Science Australia
I have worked with employers in management ... for nearly 20 years, but I will never accept an Australian economy where a vast under-class of Australians are trapped for working for $6 an hour.
The prime minister is in the blue room with the innovation minister Christopher Pyne unveiling a high powered board to help guide the government’s innovation agenda. It’s very tech heavy, apart from an appointment from the Meat and Livestock Corporation (Nationals, anyone?). On the board, the heads of Google Australia, Atlassian, Seek and venture capitalists like Daniel Petrie (who I think is ex Microsoft). You’ll pull me up if I’m wrong.
Now, to the tax breaks.
Malcolm Turnbull:
Today or this week we’ll be introducing legislation to provide the tax incentives and capital gains tax exemptions for investments in early stage start-ups. Investors will receive a 20% tax offset based on the amount they invest in these early-stage start-ups.
You can work out the segue, can’t you.
Let me just note the Labor party are doing the exact opposite. What they are doing is discouraging investment at every turn.
Christopher Pyne fortunately knows when the legislation is happening. It’s tomorrow.
1.07am GMT
01:07
Summary at the speed of light
Things are going to go bonkers for the next several hours, so quick as a wink, Tuesday morning, in three points:
1.01am GMT
01:01
Peak nah
Back to the subject of the environment minister, Greg Hunt’s prediction on radio this morning that Australia had hit peak emissions a decade ago.
Yeah, nah, say the experts. Hugh Grossman, the executive director of Reputex, said his company’s analysis of the government’s own data showed Australia’s emissions would continue to grow and that “there is no peak in sight”.
My colleague Lenore Taylor has filed a story on this, which you can read here.
12.57am GMT
00:57
Fun times with nodes.
Thanks Gabi, we’ll do what we can to catch up on the NBN later on, but today is officially insane.
12.54am GMT
00:54
Gabrielle Chan
Back to NBN before I have to scoot out of this hearing. Stephen Conroy is now going to how many nodes would be built across the country. NBN Co Bill Morrow says around 30,000 nodes are to be built by 2020.
NBN Co’s chief network engineering officer Peter Ryan says of connecting mains power to nodes, “it took a bit longer” than envisaged. He confirms the electricity cost of running each node is $2000 a year.
Conroy asks whether it is correct that there is an average of 350m of copper required to connect each (FTTN) node to each Telstra pillar. Fun fact. Conroy says the 10.5 million metres of new copper required to connect up all of the nodes would run from Melbourne to Mumbai.
Morrow - looking slightly exasperated - says on average there is 50m of copper from the node to pillar, (though you may have a number of lines within the one sheath.)
When Conroy asks if the copper remediation costs are close to $650m, Morrow says it is running at less but will not disclose a figure.
(Now, apologies people, I’m off to a Turnbull press conference. Just so you know, NBN Co peeps are being questioned for the rest of the day.)
12.52am GMT
00:52
We have a prime ministerial press conference coming up – and the Senate chamber will form a scrum in just over half an hour.
12.50am GMT
00:50
The key phrase in that last post would be Senate majority. It obviously requires more than the Greens. The attempt to defer the marriage debate off until Thursday is an effort to prevent the politically uncomfortable alternative: the Greens voting to prevent consideration of marriage equality, and not only marriage equality, their own legislative proposal. Awks.
12.42am GMT
00:42
Shalailah Medhora
The Greens will not support bringing the Senate back in the first week of May. A Senate majority can overturn the discretion of the Senate president to recall the chamber.
12.40am GMT
00:40
Ringside at the Greens partyroom
Shalailah Medhora
The Greens will support debate on same sex marriage taking place during private member’s time on Thursday. The party has reserved judgment on the issue being debated today, because they haven’t seen the Leyonhjelm motion. The inclination is to wait til Thursday.
