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| Bill Shorten tells caucus: 'We have nothing to hide' – politics live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Folks following the citizenship debacle over recent weeks will know that the major parties have been haggling in unseemly fashion over a new disclosure system to ensure parliamentarians comply with the eligibility requirements of the constitution. | |
| A subset of this haggling has been legal advices at twenty paces, which is connected to threats at various times that various people will be referred to the high court outside the normal conventions where the parliament refers by consensus, rather than on partisan interests. | |
| Over the weekend, the government made various threats about referring Labor people to the high court, perhaps forgetting momentarily that it currently lacks the numbers in the lower house to do anything at all without the support of one cross bencher. | |
| As a prelude to the tough talk, the government produced an opinion from David Bennett QC that three MPs, the NXT”s Rebekha Sharkie, and Labor’s Justine Keay and Susan Lamb weren’t eligible to sit in parliament because they were British citizens when they nominated. | |
| Today, Labor has produced a contrary opinion from Peter Hanks QC. It says” “On the factual assumptions made by Mr Bennett QC, which are incomplete, there is no basis, consistent with Re Canavan, for any argument that Justine Keay, Susan Lamb or Rebekah Sharkie are incapable of being chose or of sitting as a ... member of the House of Representatives under s 44(1) of the constitution.” | |
| The Hanks opinion says all three lodged a declaration of renunciation of British citizenship with the relevant UK authority before submitting their nominations. | |
| Labor has been relying on the argument that its folks took reasonable steps to fix up the dual citizenships, where as various government MPs took no steps.The duelling legal advices on the dual citizens rather underscore the basic layman’s point that each position is arguable, and probably the best way to resolve the current stand off is to put a number of people before the high court and let the good justices sort it out. | |
| But perhaps that’s just me. | |
| One Nation has declared it will not vote on contentious legislation until the citizenship status of everyone in parliament is known. That, obviously, would include the same-sex marriage bill. | |
| @PaulineHansonOz and sarahinthesen8 debate the dual citizenship crisis as Senator Hanson says she won't pass legislation due to the crisis. pic.twitter.com/pJlJvvib22 | |
| The opposition leader, Bill Shorten ,has just addressed the Labor caucus, declaring the party has “nothing to hide” on citizenship. Shorten said Labor had done its homework on the eligibility of its members and had legal advice that two in-doubt members, Justine Keay and Susan Lamb, were safe. | |
| “I do not doubt the extent of the loss of faith of the Australian people in the government and through the government’s ineptitude in the parliament,” he said. | |
| “We are prepared to work with the government to resolve this crisis and we are prepared to do this in a timely matter which restores people’s confidence.” | |
| Labor also rallied the troops ahead of the byelection in Bennelong, while conceding that the opposition would have a tough time overturning the Liberal margin of almost 10%. | |
| He signalled Labor would again pressure the employment minister, Michaelia Cash, over her office’s tip-off to media about a raid on the Australian Workers Union offices. | |
| “We do need to find out what she knew, we find out when she knew it and we need to find out when she told Malcolm Turnbull,” he said. | |
| “This is a minister who for years has traded out and dined out on lecturing UnionsACT [on] transparency and accountability.” | |
| A bit earlier this morning the finance minister, Mathias Cormann, conceded what has been painfully obvious to you, me and anyone else with a fleeting interest in politics: it’s been a tough few weeks for the government. | |
| “We’ve had a difficult couple of weeks, there’s no kidding ourselves, and it’s a difficult position for the government,” he told the ABC. | |
| You’re not wrong, Mathias. But the finance minister sees light on the horizon. | |
| The byelection in New England, where the Nationals are in a strong position, is less than three weeks away. | |
| There is a chance the other vote in Bennelong could be resolved before Christmas. In normal circumstances both seats would be won back by the government. But I don’t know too many people who’d use “normal” to describe the state of our current parliament. | |
| Labor is running a candidate in Bennelong, and was already out on the hustings on Sunday, trying to capitalise on the electorate’s increasing ethnic diversity. It warned of the impact of the government’s stalled citizenship changes, which would introduce a more onerous English language test, and of the potential for a Liberal-One Nation preference deal. | |
| There’s a lot happening in the Senate later this morning. | There’s a lot happening in the Senate later this morning. |
| The governor-general, General Sir Peter Cosgrove, is expected to attend parliament to swear in three new, replacement senators. | The governor-general, General Sir Peter Cosgrove, is expected to attend parliament to swear in three new, replacement senators. |
| They include West Australian Greens senator Jordon Steele-John, a disability rights advocate who will become Australia’s youngest ever senator, aged 23. He will replace Greens senator Scott Ludlam, the first senator to be caught up in the citizenship scandal. | They include West Australian Greens senator Jordon Steele-John, a disability rights advocate who will become Australia’s youngest ever senator, aged 23. He will replace Greens senator Scott Ludlam, the first senator to be caught up in the citizenship scandal. |
| The other two are Andrew Bartlett, for the Greens, and One Nation’s Fraser Anning. | The other two are Andrew Bartlett, for the Greens, and One Nation’s Fraser Anning. |
| Once the senators are sworn in, the Senate will elect a new president. | Once the senators are sworn in, the Senate will elect a new president. |
| The successful candidate will take the chair, proceedings will be suspended for a short time, and the new Senate will be presented to the governor-general. | The successful candidate will take the chair, proceedings will be suspended for a short time, and the new Senate will be presented to the governor-general. |
| A reminder that only the Senate is sitting this week. | A reminder that only the Senate is sitting this week. |
| Back to citizenship, temporarily. Doubts exist over two Labor MPs, Justine Keay and Susan Lamb, and NXT’s Rebekha Sharkie. Turnbull has accused Labor of running a protection racket for them. | Back to citizenship, temporarily. Doubts exist over two Labor MPs, Justine Keay and Susan Lamb, and NXT’s Rebekha Sharkie. Turnbull has accused Labor of running a protection racket for them. |
| On Sunday, Labor threatened to “go nuclear” if the government attempted to refer its MPs to the high court. It pointed to doubts over Liberal MPs Julia Banks, Nola Marino and or Alex Hawke. | On Sunday, Labor threatened to “go nuclear” if the government attempted to refer its MPs to the high court. It pointed to doubts over Liberal MPs Julia Banks, Nola Marino and or Alex Hawke. |
| Labor has now released legal advice showing that Keay, Lamb and Sharkie are not in danger. | Labor has now released legal advice showing that Keay, Lamb and Sharkie are not in danger. |
| Liberal MP Angus Taylor dismissed that legal opinion on Monday. | Liberal MP Angus Taylor dismissed that legal opinion on Monday. |
| “The decision that matters is the decision of the high court. Bill Shorten has simply been hiding dual citizens in the basement,” Taylor told Sky News. | “The decision that matters is the decision of the high court. Bill Shorten has simply been hiding dual citizens in the basement,” Taylor told Sky News. |
| I mentioned earlier that a new bill on same-sex marriage has been proposed by James Paterson in the lead-up to the release of the poll survey results on Wednesday. My colleague Paul Karp has written a piece on the contents of the Paterson bill, which allows for wide-ranging discrimination against same-sex weddings. This morning the deputy opposition leader, Tanya Plibersek, described Paterson as a “frontman” for conservatives. | I mentioned earlier that a new bill on same-sex marriage has been proposed by James Paterson in the lead-up to the release of the poll survey results on Wednesday. My colleague Paul Karp has written a piece on the contents of the Paterson bill, which allows for wide-ranging discrimination against same-sex weddings. This morning the deputy opposition leader, Tanya Plibersek, described Paterson as a “frontman” for conservatives. |
| The education minister, Simon Birmingham, has just said he will support the original bill put forward by a moderate, Dean Smith. Birmingham has warned against introducing “other forms of discrimination” if same-sex marriage is introduced. | The education minister, Simon Birmingham, has just said he will support the original bill put forward by a moderate, Dean Smith. Birmingham has warned against introducing “other forms of discrimination” if same-sex marriage is introduced. |
| “I remain of the belief that Dean Smith’s bill is the appropriate and logical starting point for any debate,” he told Sky News. “James Paterson or any other member or senator is absolutely free then to bring to the parliament any amendments that they so choose.” | “I remain of the belief that Dean Smith’s bill is the appropriate and logical starting point for any debate,” he told Sky News. “James Paterson or any other member or senator is absolutely free then to bring to the parliament any amendments that they so choose.” |
| Birmingham also said the issue ought to be dealt with quickly and decisively if the survey returns a yes result. | Birmingham also said the issue ought to be dealt with quickly and decisively if the survey returns a yes result. |
| Welcome to another week in parliament, blog fans. It’s Christopher Knaus here filling in for Amy Remeikis, who is up in Queensland on the campaign trail in that state’s election. I’ll be carrying you through what is expected to be an intense week for the government. | Welcome to another week in parliament, blog fans. It’s Christopher Knaus here filling in for Amy Remeikis, who is up in Queensland on the campaign trail in that state’s election. I’ll be carrying you through what is expected to be an intense week for the government. |
| Malcolm Turnbull, fresh from losing the government’s majority, wakes up today to find a Newspoll showing a significant drop in his popularity. He is down five points in the preferred prime minister stakes, narrowing the gap between him and Bill Shorten to just two points. | Malcolm Turnbull, fresh from losing the government’s majority, wakes up today to find a Newspoll showing a significant drop in his popularity. He is down five points in the preferred prime minister stakes, narrowing the gap between him and Bill Shorten to just two points. |
| The citizenship cloud continues to hang over parliament. Three replacement senators are expected to be sworn in this morning after they were declared elected by order of the high court. A new Senate president will also be announced to replace Stephen Parry, who was forced out of parliament this month. | The citizenship cloud continues to hang over parliament. Three replacement senators are expected to be sworn in this morning after they were declared elected by order of the high court. A new Senate president will also be announced to replace Stephen Parry, who was forced out of parliament this month. |
| This all comes days out from the release of results from the same-sex marriage postal survey. Those results will be announced on Wednesday morning. Already a second private member’s bill is being proposed by the Liberal senator James Paterson as an alternative to the bill proposed by a moderate, Dean Smith. The draft of Paterson’s bill has been released. It is designed to beef up protections on freedom of speech and allow a limited form of conscientious objection. | This all comes days out from the release of results from the same-sex marriage postal survey. Those results will be announced on Wednesday morning. Already a second private member’s bill is being proposed by the Liberal senator James Paterson as an alternative to the bill proposed by a moderate, Dean Smith. The draft of Paterson’s bill has been released. It is designed to beef up protections on freedom of speech and allow a limited form of conscientious objection. |
| So it’s set to be quite a day. Strap yourselves in. | So it’s set to be quite a day. Strap yourselves in. |