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| Peter Dutton calls Cory Bernardi's defection a 'betrayal' – politics live | Peter Dutton calls Cory Bernardi's defection a 'betrayal' – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 9.29pm GMT | |
| 21:29 | |
| Katharine Murphy has written the essential backgrounder on Cory Bernardi. You must read it through but here is a taste: | |
| As we begin to contemplate what his next phase as a crossbencher will look like, we have certain advantages. Bernardi has been around sufficiently long in Australian politics to be a known known. | |
| He’s an avowed climate sceptic. He’s a Christian values conservative: a vociferous opponent of marriage equality, and inclined to poke the hornets’ nest on Islam. He’s been at the pointy end of internal debates on section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, which is the frontline of the contemporary left-right culture war in Australia. On economic issues, he’s a low-tax, small-government man. | |
| Unlike many micro-party players who have to invent a network from scratch and create the means of bankrolling a fledgling political operation, Bernardi has some prospects of garnering firepower and professionalism because of his well-stocked contact book. | |
| As an important institutional player in the Liberal party in South Australia, he’s got some powerful friends, including the mining magnate Gina Rinehart. Eyebrows were raised inside the Coalition last year when Bernardi and Rinehart met members of the Trump transition team in the US. There were also reports Bernardi spent New Year’s Eve with Rinehart as a guest on the luxury cruise liner The World. | |
| A key question of early interest and import will be how Bernardi’s new operation intends to sit in the political firmament with One Nation. Will Bernardi attempt to take back the ground One Nation has claimed over the course of last year, or does he view himself as being complementary to that insurgency? | |
| 9.24pm GMT | |
| 21:24 | |
| Is that the time already? | |
| A little housekeeping. Last night, after cabinet and ministry meetings, the leaders joined for a (recently) traditional ceremony at the Australian War Memorial. This morning, they have headed to church to praise the lord for such exciting times. Then they will head into party room meetings which is the usual Tuesday timetable. Both parliamentary chambers will begin at or after midday, the senate at 12.30pm. We are expecting a statement from Bernardi in the senate at first opening. All we know of the conversation between Turnbull and Bernardi is that Turnbull made the phone call. | |
| 9.15pm GMT | |
| 21:15 | |
| MPs and senators are now in the usual church service to start the parliamentary year. The treasurer, Scott Morrison, suggests that Bernardi made a promise to his Liberal voters – a promise that has now been broken. Bernardi’s fellow conservative senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells says she is disappointed. Backbenchers South Australian MP Rowan Ramsey and Queensland MP Michelle Landry, both on the knife edge and facing threats from minor parties including Nick Xenophon and One Nation respectively, believe he should give back the seat. | |
| Updated | |
| at 9.17pm GMT | |
| 9.08pm GMT | |
| 21:08 | |
| First up, remember that with the Bernardi defection, the Coalition requires one more number in the Senate to pass legislation. | |
| Given that Cory obviously has conservative values, he is likely to support the government on economic policies but he will just act as a roadblock on any tribal issues such as marriage equality. | |
| I would suggest he would have done so anyway – so not much change there. For example, if the Liberal moderates did manage to get a marriage equality vote up, he would have crossed the floor. Nothing surer. | |
| But, as we awake to the news this morning, the conservatives are revolting. | |
| The Queensland LNP MP and whip George Christensen has again warned any change to the Coalition policy on marriage would be a step too far. It was a not-so veiled threat. Which would suggest Bernardi would have more sway inside the party. | |
| Christensen’s vote is far more crucial, given that he sits in the lower house where Malcolm Turnbull has a majority of one. | |
| Meanwhile, a Newspoll shows a slight majority of Coalition voters support Donald Trump’s travel ban. Paul Karp reports: | |
| The Australian community is evenly divided on Donald Trump’s travel ban from a group of Muslim-majority nations, with almost half of voters supporting the ban, a new poll has found. | |
| The Newspoll, released on Tuesday, found that 44% of respondents believe Australia should take similar measures, 45% oppose doing so and 11% were uncommitted. | |
| Through the executive order Trump suspended visas being issued for 90 days to migrants or travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, stopped all refugee arrivals into the US for 120 days and banned Syrian refugees indefinitely. | |
| The poll of 1,734 voters found support highest among Coalition voters, with 52% backing the travel ban, compared with 39% opposed and 9% uncommitted. | |
| Updated | |
| at 9.15pm GMT | |
| 8.44pm GMT | 8.44pm GMT |
| 20:44 | 20:44 |
| It is official: Cory Bernardi is leaving to establish his own party | |
| Welcome to the first day of #politicslive for 2017 and what a cracker it is. | Welcome to the first day of #politicslive for 2017 and what a cracker it is. |
| My colleague Katharine Murphy has confirmed: | My colleague Katharine Murphy has confirmed: |
| BREAKING: PM and @corybernardi spoke about 20 minutes ago. Bernardi confirmed he's leaving. Will announce at 12.30pm in the Senate #auspol | BREAKING: PM and @corybernardi spoke about 20 minutes ago. Bernardi confirmed he's leaving. Will announce at 12.30pm in the Senate #auspol |
| The immigration minister and a leading conservative, Peter Dutton, told Sabra Lane on AM that the defection was a betrayal of the Liberal party, given that Bernardi stood as a Liberal senator in the number two position at the July election. | The immigration minister and a leading conservative, Peter Dutton, told Sabra Lane on AM that the defection was a betrayal of the Liberal party, given that Bernardi stood as a Liberal senator in the number two position at the July election. |
| The Daily Telegraph is channelling the sentiment in the Liberal party: | The Daily Telegraph is channelling the sentiment in the Liberal party: |
| The Daily Telegraph front page #auspol pic.twitter.com/BrUrm7jaFR | The Daily Telegraph front page #auspol pic.twitter.com/BrUrm7jaFR |
| The party is cranky over Bernardi’s move because he had been setting up the Australian Conservatives, through a website, blog and membership before the last election. Yet he surfed in on the Liberal party ticket to get a six-year Senate term – six years to establish his new brand from a Senate platform and a high-profile crossbench position while eating away at the right flank of the Coalition. | The party is cranky over Bernardi’s move because he had been setting up the Australian Conservatives, through a website, blog and membership before the last election. Yet he surfed in on the Liberal party ticket to get a six-year Senate term – six years to establish his new brand from a Senate platform and a high-profile crossbench position while eating away at the right flank of the Coalition. |
| Mike Bowers is stalking the building on #corywatch. If you have a lot of pent-up feelings, you can share them in the blog or on the Twits. He is @mpbowers and I am @gabriellechan. Or you can speak further on my Facebook page. | Mike Bowers is stalking the building on #corywatch. If you have a lot of pent-up feelings, you can share them in the blog or on the Twits. He is @mpbowers and I am @gabriellechan. Or you can speak further on my Facebook page. |
| Let’s make Australia Grate again. | Let’s make Australia Grate again. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 9.13pm GMT |