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Coalition strife laid bare by sobering Queensland result – politics live Liberal MP Tim Wilson says any association with One Nation is 'toxic' – politics live
(35 minutes later)
The first senator from the ‘no’ campaign is on his feet in the Senate. Conservative ACT senator Zed Seselja is saying he will support amendments which “strengthen the legislation”. Seselja has been one of the key proponents of amending the bill to give greater protections for religious freedom and parental choice.
I firmly believe this cannot be a blank cheque, because changing this act does have consequences.
Seselja said he remains “firm in his convictions” about marriage, but will respect the will of the Australian people.
He’s raising concerns about the teaching of programs like Safe Schools in Australian schools.
Seselja began his contribution by reminding the Senate that many people currently sitting in the chamber have previously opposed same-sex marriage, but since changed their position. That included Labor senator Penny Wong, who voted in support of the Howard amendment in 2004 to exclude same-sex couples from marriage.
Simply because some have changed their views... does not mean the millions of Australians who hold a different view do it as a result of bigotry, any more than senator Wong did it as a result of bigotry.
Tears and Cheers-Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young during an emotional contribution in the senate as debate on the bill to change the marriage act gets underway @knausc @murpharoo @GuardianAus #politicslive https://t.co/7ceHyXY4Lk pic.twitter.com/b7ZoOuI65V
Federal Liberal MPs are continuing to publicly dissect the Queensland state election result. Tim Wilson has just said that any association with One Nation is toxic and ought to be avoided.
Bob Borbidge is right: any association with One Nation is toxic. They are not allies or friends of the Liberal Party. They feed on discontent. They have no solutions for the future of Australia.
Education minister Simon Birmingham had similar things to say a bit earlier this morning on Sky News.
After trashing Nationals MP George Christensen’s weekend comments, Birmingham said the LNP needed to work out a way to stop the leakage of votes to minor parties.
So this goes to the question of how do you fight back against that leakage of votes to minor parties and to One Nation in particular? And you don’t do it by trying to become One Nation light.
You do it by taking the fight up to them in terms of explaining to the electorate the benefits of open markets, the benefits of trade, the benefits that will accrue to those communities because we’re increasing exports and generating more jobs, the risks to them if we actually get pushed into becoming a closed shop economy; that of course people will find their standard of living will drop, their opportunities will drop.
Labor’s Jenny McAllister is now on her feet in the Senate. She’s chairing a committee that’s looking into the conduct of the postal survey.
The past few months have been bruising and hurtful to the LGTBI community.
McAllister: there is no hidden army of social conservatives, the years of polling were right. #auspol #marriageequality
Emotions are running high in the Senate. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young is in tears as she speaks on the same-sex marriage bill. She pays tribute to the activists and politicians who have helped make marriage equality happen.
Millions of Australians have fought for this reform to happen. Inquiries after inquiries, protesting on the street, meeting with members of parliament, lobbying in their workplaces and voting yes.
It is now time for the Senate to do our job, to get this done. And without the muddying of the waters from those who have always been opposed to equal love. The growth of the movement has been so strong and so profound. Activists gathering in pubs, meeting in community centres, organising among their friends, to cities and airports being lit up by lights.
But why is this so important? It’s because discrimination to some demeans us all. Because equality is a symbol of a fair, caring and progressive society.
Hanson-Young says she will always remember 15 November, the day the postal survey results were announced.
It will go down as the day when progressive reforms can be seen as achievable. The street party and the parties [which] happened across the country on the day and the night on the 15th of November were so joyous.
You could just feel the buzz and the excitement in the air, because there was just a huge sense of relief. People who had fought for this for so long were vindicated.
The nation repaired its broken heart that had been damaged by the former prime minister John Howard’s bill. It is now up to this place to make sure that we get the job done and finish properly.
It’s not all Kumbaya in the Senate despite the cross-party consensus on the bill authored by Dean Smith and the long list of marriage equality supporters so far.
Labor’s Anne Urquhart took a swipe at Philip Ruddock’s record as attorney general when discussing the government’s religious freedom inquiry, and noted that it has no LGBTIQ representation.
Lisa Singh called the postal survey a “blatant abdication of responsibility and a waste of $100m”. She accused Malcolm Turnbull of caving to conservatives. “The prime minister continues to let them lead the government and that is an absolute shame.”
Sarah Hanson-Young is now on her feet and very teary about the long slow progress of marriage equality, recounting her decision to sponsor a private member’s bill in 2008. She said Australian Marriage Equality co-chair Alex Greenwich convinced her that marriage equality was not inevitable and progressives would have to fight for the social reform.
“It’s his birthday tomorrow, so I’m hoping we can have a vote on the second reading as a birthday present for him.”
Just casting our gaze over to banking, momentarily. We know the push for a banking royal commission is currently one of the key topics causing restlessness within the Coalition.Just casting our gaze over to banking, momentarily. We know the push for a banking royal commission is currently one of the key topics causing restlessness within the Coalition.
Well, our political editor, Katharine Murphy ,has added a little more fuel to that particular fire. She’s spoken to Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, who has left the door open to switching positions and supporting an inquiry into the banks.Well, our political editor, Katharine Murphy ,has added a little more fuel to that particular fire. She’s spoken to Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, who has left the door open to switching positions and supporting an inquiry into the banks.
If he did so, he’d be at odds with Malcolm Turnbull and treasurer Scott Morrison, who have so far resisted such calls, instead favouring a compensation scheme for victims of bank malfeasance.If he did so, he’d be at odds with Malcolm Turnbull and treasurer Scott Morrison, who have so far resisted such calls, instead favouring a compensation scheme for victims of bank malfeasance.
You can read Murphy’s full piece here:You can read Murphy’s full piece here:
Senate debate on the cross-party same-sex marriage bill has continued with more supporters including Peter Whish-Wilson, Anne Urquhart and Richard Di Natale.Senate debate on the cross-party same-sex marriage bill has continued with more supporters including Peter Whish-Wilson, Anne Urquhart and Richard Di Natale.
Urquhart said that an “ideal bill” would simply remove the provision that marriage is between a man and a woman and instead specify that it is between “two people”.Urquhart said that an “ideal bill” would simply remove the provision that marriage is between a man and a woman and instead specify that it is between “two people”.
She argues the cross-party bill is already a compromise, because it creates a new category of religious civil celebrants that can refuse weddings – one of the many indications that Labor will not accept further amendments.She argues the cross-party bill is already a compromise, because it creates a new category of religious civil celebrants that can refuse weddings – one of the many indications that Labor will not accept further amendments.
Di Natale says “the resounding yes vote was a call to end discrimination, not entrench it”.Di Natale says “the resounding yes vote was a call to end discrimination, not entrench it”.
The Greens leader also mentions he has met young LGBTI people who don’t want to get married because they view marriage as “flawed, conservative and patriarchal”.The Greens leader also mentions he has met young LGBTI people who don’t want to get married because they view marriage as “flawed, conservative and patriarchal”.
But even these people “almost all still support this change … because for many this is about equality, not marriage”.But even these people “almost all still support this change … because for many this is about equality, not marriage”.
Di Natale promises a good faith debate on the cross-party bill. He has already confirmed to Guardian Australia that the Greens will propose amendments but not do anything to imperil marriage equality.Di Natale promises a good faith debate on the cross-party bill. He has already confirmed to Guardian Australia that the Greens will propose amendments but not do anything to imperil marriage equality.
Greens leader Richard Di Natale has just wrapped up his speech.Greens leader Richard Di Natale has just wrapped up his speech.
Remember those rainbow sneakers he wore when the same-sex marriage bill was introduced?Remember those rainbow sneakers he wore when the same-sex marriage bill was introduced?
Well, he’s got them on again. He’s telling us why.Well, he’s got them on again. He’s telling us why.
When in the future I recall the resounding yes vote and I look at these sneakers, I’ll know that change is possible. If we can achieve justice in this issue, there’s no reason we can’t achieve justice for so many other Australians who are struggling right now. That we are better as a nation when we are working towards fairness, respect, and compassion.When in the future I recall the resounding yes vote and I look at these sneakers, I’ll know that change is possible. If we can achieve justice in this issue, there’s no reason we can’t achieve justice for so many other Australians who are struggling right now. That we are better as a nation when we are working towards fairness, respect, and compassion.
As the debate on the same-sex marriage bill continues, Victorian Labor senator Jacinta Collins crossed the floor to speak with Liberal moderate Dean Smith.As the debate on the same-sex marriage bill continues, Victorian Labor senator Jacinta Collins crossed the floor to speak with Liberal moderate Dean Smith.
The Senate has resumed debate on the same-sex marriage bill.The Senate has resumed debate on the same-sex marriage bill.
Labor’s Anne Urquhart, a senator from Tasmania, said her party made a mistake when it backed John Howard’s change to the Marriage Act in 2004, which deliberately barred same-sex couples from the definition of marriage.Labor’s Anne Urquhart, a senator from Tasmania, said her party made a mistake when it backed John Howard’s change to the Marriage Act in 2004, which deliberately barred same-sex couples from the definition of marriage.
Urquhart said it took many years of effort to change Labor’s position. Tasmania, she said, led the way. She implored colleagues to allow the bill to pass without amendments.Urquhart said it took many years of effort to change Labor’s position. Tasmania, she said, led the way. She implored colleagues to allow the bill to pass without amendments.
All that will happen after this bill is passed is that more people will be able to get married. In no way does this bill lessen the value of, or harm any existing marriage. In no way does this bill cause any harm on any person or couple. And in no way are your precious freedoms restricted or impacted.All that will happen after this bill is passed is that more people will be able to get married. In no way does this bill lessen the value of, or harm any existing marriage. In no way does this bill cause any harm on any person or couple. And in no way are your precious freedoms restricted or impacted.
The Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, is also speaking on the bill. He said the postal survey had unleashed hate and abuse on the LGBTIQ community. Now, the parliament had to get on with the job.The Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, is also speaking on the bill. He said the postal survey had unleashed hate and abuse on the LGBTIQ community. Now, the parliament had to get on with the job.
It’s now time to end the damaging debate, enough is enough, enough of the distractions, enough of the delays, enough of the damaging lies.It’s now time to end the damaging debate, enough is enough, enough of the distractions, enough of the delays, enough of the damaging lies.
Australia said yes to marriage equality, and they said it emphatically.Australia said yes to marriage equality, and they said it emphatically.
Turnbull can cancel Parliament - but that won't stop my Labor team from turning up to work and pushing our policy agenda: creating jobs, investing in education, building infrastructure and – of course - protecting Medicare. pic.twitter.com/DZoQb5ob8bTurnbull can cancel Parliament - but that won't stop my Labor team from turning up to work and pushing our policy agenda: creating jobs, investing in education, building infrastructure and – of course - protecting Medicare. pic.twitter.com/DZoQb5ob8b
The result of the Queensland election has been one of the key talking points in Canberra this morning. Your usual blogger, Amy Remeikis, has given us a series of excellent insights into Queensland politics throughout the campaign. This morning, she looked at how Adani’s Carmichael mine influenced the result. The conclusion? It may have saved government for Labor. Exit polls in the state’s south-east found up to 70% of respondents were against the billion-dollar rail line loan for Adani.The result of the Queensland election has been one of the key talking points in Canberra this morning. Your usual blogger, Amy Remeikis, has given us a series of excellent insights into Queensland politics throughout the campaign. This morning, she looked at how Adani’s Carmichael mine influenced the result. The conclusion? It may have saved government for Labor. Exit polls in the state’s south-east found up to 70% of respondents were against the billion-dollar rail line loan for Adani.
You can read Amy’s full piece here:You can read Amy’s full piece here:
Labor candidate for Bennelong, Kristina Keneally, appeared in the electorate a little earlier. We’re only a few weeks out from the poll, which is shaping up as a significant test for Malcolm Turnbull and the Coalition.Labor candidate for Bennelong, Kristina Keneally, appeared in the electorate a little earlier. We’re only a few weeks out from the poll, which is shaping up as a significant test for Malcolm Turnbull and the Coalition.
Keneally responds to the attack launched on her by Turnbull on Sunday. Turnbull likened her views on immigration to throwing out the welcome mat for people smugglers.Keneally responds to the attack launched on her by Turnbull on Sunday. Turnbull likened her views on immigration to throwing out the welcome mat for people smugglers.
Keneally said Turnbull had looked “a little stressed”.Keneally said Turnbull had looked “a little stressed”.
And you know what it’s not just the prime minister who’s under pressure. It’s his government that’s under pressure. The dysfunction, the chaos. This government is eating itself alive in front of the Australian people.And you know what it’s not just the prime minister who’s under pressure. It’s his government that’s under pressure. The dysfunction, the chaos. This government is eating itself alive in front of the Australian people.
Mike Bowers was down at the shadow cabinet meeting earlier this morning. Look how busy everyone is! As per Bill Shorten:Mike Bowers was down at the shadow cabinet meeting earlier this morning. Look how busy everyone is! As per Bill Shorten:
“We are here. Turnbull, well, he’s just not here.”“We are here. Turnbull, well, he’s just not here.”
Abbott talks about a “faustian pact” that exists between those who leak and journalists. This pact, apparently, guarantees the politician favourable coverage in exchange for the leak.
If someone is a regular source you then write favourable things. Now, in the end, politics is diminished.
Tony Abbott has just been on 2GB, railing against leaks from the cabinet. He says the “era of the political assassin has to end”.
The leaks he is referring to were made to News Corp, and revealed ministers were backing a banking royal commission in spite of the opposition from Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison. Abbott says he has no idea who the leakers are:
I don’t have ministers sidle up to me and say ‘oh I got that into the press now didn’t I embarrass so and so, and I achieved this particular objective’.
It’s a dishonourable thing, and dishonour only takes place in the darkness. The leaker doesn’t tell.
Even though I’m sure the journos who are leaked to despite the person who is doing the leaking. They also appreciate that for them, this is a valuable source.
All of this dishonour has got to stop says @TonyAbbottMHR #auspol
Abbott: "dishonour takes place in the darkness". STEP INTO THE LIGHT #auspol
"The era of the political assassin has to end," says Tony Abbott on 2GB. "It must, must stop." Being asked about cabinet leaks.
Former Queensland Labor premier Peter Beattie has just offered an interpretation of the state election result. There are federal ramifications, he said.
The state election showed a serious dissatisfaction with both major parties.
Labor won because of Annastascia Palaszczuk’s personality, which voters warmed to.
He says there has been a fragmentation of the conservative vote in Queensland, which creates problems federally. Many One Nation voters ended up voting Labor, or spraying their preferences to other parties, instead of the LNP. The consequences of that are dire for the Coalition, according to Beattie.
The federal liberal government will lose power in Queensland alone unless they reassess where they are and re-establish their credibility here. I’m not sure they can do that under the current prime minister. They seriously need to think about a change otherwise they will lose the election in Queensland alone ... the weekend’s result confirms it.
Shadow cabinet is meeting in Canberra this morning. Labor is playing up the optics. Here they are, busy in parliament. The Coalition, meanwhile, has called off sittings in the lower house.
“We are here. Turnbull, well, he’s just not here,” Shorten says, in case the subtlety escaped anyone.
Shorten:
The prime minister can cancel parliament as often as he likes, that won’t stop us from getting on with building infrastructure, defending and supporting Medicare, properly funding our schools, our universities and our TAFEs and generally standing up for the issues which Australians want.
Shorten congratulated Queensland Labor for its result on the weekend. He also says the federal opposition wants to remain “positive” in the lead-up to Christmas. He flags the banking royal commission and Labor’s campaign against penalty rate cuts as two key battlegrounds.
Let’s not forget about that small matter of the Bennelong byelection, scheduled for16 December. What does the Queensland election result mean there, if anything?
Taylor was asked about the byelection on Sky News. He uses the question to launch an attack on Labor’s star candidate Kristina Keneally.
It’s very clear as well as the prime minister said yesterday, that in a range of policy areas, there are some very serious questions, in particular, giving encouragement to people smugglers, which is the last thing this country needs.
He’s echoing a new line of attack on Keneally, opened up by Malcolm Turnbull on the weekend. Turnbull referred to an article Keneally wrote for Guardian Australia, advocating for refugees on Manus to be brought to Australia. Turnbull said on Sunday:
[The people smugglers] will see and are seeing Bill Shorten’s choice of Kristina Keneally as Labor wanting to throw out the welcome mat for asylum seekers.
George Brandis also aired some views about the Queensland state election. He said it would be “foolish to deny” that all state elections have an element of national significance. But he says none of the headline issues in the campaign were federal.
There is no doubt in my mind, having been a very active participant in the Queensland state election, that this was an election fought on state issues. It was fought from the LNPs view, on the very poor record of the Palaszczuk government.
He’s asked about George Christensen’s comments. Brandis says he can understand Christensen’s position, but:
What I would remind him is that at the end of the day what the Australian people want is for government’s to get on and deliver for them.
They don’t want to see an endless symposium on Queensland electoral politics, we’ll leave that to commentators like you. What they want is for us to get on and do our job, and that’s what we’re going to do.
My colleague Paul Karp earlier told us about some further agitation from conservative MPs on same-sex marriage. Angus Taylor, Zed Seselja and Michael Sukkar say the moderates are betraying the party by backing the private member’s bill proposed by the moderate Dean Smith. That’s the bill that has cross-party support and is now before the Senate.
The attorney general, George Brandis, said some within his party are making the same-sex marriage debate broader than it needed to be.
There is absolutely no inconsistency between giving effect to marriage equality and protecting religious freedom. The two are entirely consistent with one another.
He’s asked whether his colleagues have anything to fear about the bill’s consequences for freedom of religion.
I think they have nothing to fear, but nevertheless there are some who take the view that this ought to be a broader debate, that it ought to extend into broader areas of anti-discrimination law. That’s not what the Australian people voted on in the marriage survey.
Bill Shorten is in Canberra, where his shadow cabinet will meet this morning, despite the lower house break.
Rather unsurprisingly, he thinks the Queensland state election is a reflection on the Turnbull government.
Shorten praises Annastascia Palaszczuk for the strength of her campaign and agrees much of the election was fought on state issues.
But Shorten says Malcolm Turnbull is living in “la la land” if he doesn’t think the vote was a reflection on his government. He’s spoken with the ABC this morning:
He just doesn’t get it. There are issues not just in Queensland, but across Australia, which I think Australians are increasingly frustrated about the federal government, not the least of which is the failure to hold a banking royal commission.
I think there are implications for federal politics and parties generally, but first of all for the government, you don’t have to take my word for it, you can take the word of George Christensen.
Shorten is, of course, referring there to Christensen’s intervention at the weekend. Christensen blamed the state election result on a lack of leadership from the federal government.
On banking, Shorten says Labor will work “seriously and constructively with anyone, and that includes senator O’Sullivan”. You’ll remember that O’Sullivan, an LNP senator, has circulated a private member’s bill to establish a commission of inquiry.
Shorten says Labor would look at the Coalition’s plan for a compensation scheme for banking victims. But he said it would not get to the heart of the problem. Only a royal commission could achieve that, he said.
How many breakfast shows have we done in the course of the past year and a half where the government has got a new plan to try and reform the banks. They seem to want to do everything except a royal commission.
A compensation process is one that we will look at constructively. But that’s no guarantee of stopping the problems in the future.
The Liberal MP Warren Entsch has taken aim at the Liberal National party MP George Christensen for his decision to apologise to One Nation voters and sheet home blame to Malcolm Turnbull after the LNP’s poor Queensland election result.
Speaking to ABC AM, Entsch said:
Unfortunately with George – and he’s entitled to his opinion – he’s always sort of firing shots ... To go out there and apologise to One Nation or one other group, I don’t think is the way to go ... To suggest one way or another that it’s all to do with federal government – the first thing he has to realise is ... George, you are actually a part of federal government.
Entsch rules out supporting Senator Barry O’Sullivan’s bill for a bank commission of inquiry. He said the basis for it was “wrong”, citing O’Sullivan’s comments that he felt entitled to agitate on the issue because Dean Smith had introduced a private member’s bill for marriage equality.
Entsch:
It worries me that there is no real terms of reference here. It’s just, ‘Oh let’s go and do it.’ And worse still, in this particular case, he doesn’t just want an inquiry on banks, he wants it on insurance companies, on superannuation. It is so broad we could be inquiring into it for the next 20 or 30 years. If the inquiry is to tell us the banks have been ripping us off and doing the wrong thing, we don’t need an inquiry we know that already.
What we need to do is focus on the victims ... the treasurer I understand will be announcing something this week, a tribunal for victims under $5m damages, I’m continuing to push for victims over that and dealing with historical cases.
Speaking of marriage, the conservative ministers Angus Taylor, Zed Seselja, and Michael Sukkar have complained to the Australian that moderates betrayed them by backing a cross-party marriage bill. As the Senate prepares to debate marriage it appears the conservatives are on a hiding to nothing.
Entsch:
They are ministers, they have the responsibility to talk within their portfolios publicly ... What I’m saying to these guys – these ministers – by all means, if you want to go chasing religious exemptions, please do so, but do a favour and step down from your portfolios, you can do so then without breaching ministerial codes.
Welcome to another week of mayhem in the house on the hill. It’s Christopher Knaus again filling in for my long-lost colleague Amy Remeikis, who has spent the past few weeks up north, covering the Queensland state election. She’s still in the sunshine state for a little longer, but I’ll be here early this week to guide you through the events of federal politics.
It’s a big week for the Coalition. You’ll no doubt remember that we’ve only got the Senate sitting this week. The lower house has been given a lovely one-week pre-Christmas holiday.
But there’s likely to be little respite for Malcolm Turnbull. There are internal battles erupting on several fronts this morning. Here’s what we’re expecting to dominate today:
Nationals MPs, including LNP senator Barry O’Sullivan, are continuing to agitate for an inquiry into the banks, in defiance of the government’s position. O’Sullivan circulated a private member’s bill last week to force such a commission. The Liberal MP Warren Entsch has already been out this morning, criticising O’Sullivan’s approach. The government is attempting to head off the push for a banking royal commission by proposing a compensation scheme for victims.
The result of the Queensland election is already creating problems for Turnbull. The LNP backbencher George Christensen has laid blame for the result directly at the feet of the Turnbull government (of which he is a part). Coalition MPs have been out this morning criticising Christensen for his comments, and downplaying links between federal issues and the state election.
Debate over the same-sex marriage bill will continue in the Senate this week. The bill is continuing to fuel tensions within the Coalition. Conservatives including Zed Seselja, Michael Sukkar, and others are continuing their push for stronger powers to discriminate against same-sex couples. That is frustrating moderate MPs, including Entsch and the Liberal MP Dean Smith.
Labor are attacking the government for delaying the sitting of the lower house by a week. The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, has slammed the decision again this morning. We’ll bring you more of his comments shortly.
Stick with us. It’s sure to be another frantic day in federal politics.