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Brandis applauded after chastising Pauline Hanson for wearing burqa – politics live
Brandis applauded after rebuking Pauline Hanson for wearing burqa – politics live
(35 minutes later)
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It was a shame George Brandis did not get a standing ovation from his own side. I suspect they were frozen, thinking through the strategic value or not of standing. Perhaps if a senior Coalition senator had sprang to their feet, the rest would have followed.
Once again, Matt Hatter nails the political point of the story of the day.
6.13am BST
@gabriellechan Senator Hansen draws attention to the evils of Freeway Construction. pic.twitter.com/LZAcLNXNfV
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6.52am BST
Malcolm Turnbull takes the suspension debate.
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He agrees with the crossbenchers on the need to get back to policy debate.
He says the parliament should be talking about important issues to Australians such as national security, energy policy and jobs.
And he defends Joyce as a member of the parliament.
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06:11
There is no point to be made here. Imagine how a young Muslim girl will feel having her faith and her family mocked in our Parliament. Shame pic.twitter.com/yFM2hunzo2
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06:11
Crossbenchers call for Joyce to step aside from cabinet but remain a voting member
Three lower house crossbenchers Andrew Wilkie, Cathy McGowan and NXT MP Rebekha Sharkie have been abstaining from the votes re Barnaby thus far because they don’t agree with either side.
Their position is that Joyce should step aside from cabinet but that his vote should count until the high court rules.
Wilkie asks if the chamber can stop this “fractious juvenile debate” debate and get back to policy debate.
6.07am BST
06:07
Senator Nick Xenophon will talk about NXT’s position on the media reform bill at 3.30pm.
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06:01
Tony Burke’s argument is around the two votes in the House recently that were lost by one vote.
Those votes were restoring penalty rate cuts and the other was a procedural motion to bring on a vote on a banking royal commission.
We don’t know if that majority is lawful. This is a big deal.
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Labor’s Tony Burke is prosecuting the suspension of standing orders as Malcolm Turnbull sits there with a bemused smile.
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He notes the foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop has not had a question on the great trans-Tasman conspiracy theory.
06:45
I was ready to move an extension of time.
At the same time, the inquiry into the postal ballot has started.
ABS says it was only told it would be managing a postal ballot on SSM on August 7. Ten days ago.
6.39am BST
06:39
Nick Xenophon says no deal on media reforms as yet
It keeps spinning here. Nick Xen:
We are extending an offer to the government and that we will continue to talk to them
He says they were hopeful of announcing some agreement today but that is not possible.
He wants tax breaks for public interest journalism for smaller outfits earning up to $25m.
6.35am BST
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Now Pauline Hanson is on 2GB speaking about her stunt.
Isn’t it a shame that there are Muslim women forced to wear this?
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06:32
George Brandis was just brilliant in the chamber. Just brilliant. Strongest I have ever heard him.
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06:31
Pauline Hanson asked two other supplementary questions of George Brandis which he completed shut down.
This was the first one: Is the attorney general aware that the burqa is not a religious requirement at all? My question is – will the attorney general then ban the burqa in this house for, in future, as a security risk and also the fact is the people of Australia have the right to see the face of a person they elect to this parliament and they are the person who is going to be making decisions in the parliament on their behalf?
(I think what she was trying to say was, will you ban the burqa for members and visitors).
At that point, the president, Stephen Parry, stepped in.
It is in the purview of the presiding officers, not the attorney general, to the purview of security in the Parliament House. We have determined if anyone enters the building with their face covered is clearly identified prior to entering the building. And I ascertained when you entered dressed as you were, I identified who you were. Attorney general, do you have comment you wish to make?
Brandis said no.
Then Hanson asked: If a person who wears a balaclava or a helmet into a bank or any other building or even on the floor of the court, they must be removed. Why is it not the same case for someone who is covering up their face and cannot be identified? Will the government make changes to these laws?
Brandis said no.
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Note the Senate pin.
I just want to bring you more detail of the burqa exchange.
When I reported that Penny Wong congratulated Brandis, she tried to make a short statement but Senator Hanson refused her permission. So she took a point of order to make the point anyway.
Wong:
My point of order is this, if I had the opportunity, I would move to congratulate the leader [George Brandis] for that statement. And all of us on this side of the chamber, there is one thing to wear religious dress as an act of faith and it is another to wear it as a stunt.
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Labor is now moving a suspension of standing orders on Barnaby Joyce.
Lower house is voting now on the suspension of standing orders regarding Barnaby Joyce.
That the House:
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1. Notes:a) This House has unanimously asked the high court to determine whether the deputy prime minister is constitutionally qualified to be a member of parliament and therebyto determine if the government has a majority;
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b) The deputy prime minister has admitted he was a citizen of a foreign power right up until the weekend and has already started campaigning for the New England by-election;
By George!
c) Former Minister Matt Canavan has resigned from cabinet and will not vote in the Senate until the high court resolves doubts about his constitutional qualifications;
d) The prime minister is continuing to accept the deputy prime minister’s vote in this House even though it means that victims of the banks are denied the Royal Commissionthey’ve been calling for and Australians continue to have their penalty rates cut; and
e) The situation with his deputy prime minister is unsustainable; and
2. Therefore, calls on the prime minister to:
a) Admit his continued reliance on the deputy prime minister’s vote is causing real harm to the people of Australia;
b) Rule out accepting the vote of the deputy prime minister while his constitutionalqualifications are in doubt; and
c) Direct the deputy prime minister to immediately resign from cabinet.
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Barnaby Joyce takes the question on agriculture in the lower house after Labor lost their bid to gag him.
It was a shame George Brandis did not get a standing ovation from his own side. I suspect they were frozen, thinking through the strategic value or not of standing. Perhaps if a senior Coalition senator had sprang to their feet, the rest would have followed.
He is halfway through the answer, greeted by Labor heckling, when Anthony Albanese takes a point of order.
It’s normally the practice that valedictories are heard in silence.
He is thrown out.
5.48am BST
05:48
This is the textbook answer to Pauline Hanson’s stunt.
This is Brandis' response to Pauline Hanson's burqa stunt that earned him a standing ovation from Labor pic.twitter.com/xq5rBSGKQM
