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| Coalition faces losing Nauru bill battle on last sitting day of year – politics live | Coalition faces losing Nauru bill battle on last sitting day of year – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Again, a government losing a vote on the floor happens – when it comes to procedure. | |
| Legislative losses are very, very rare. | |
| The last time a govt lost a vote on legislation on the floor of the HoR was in 1929 when the Maritime Industries Bill was amended by 35 votes to 34. PM Stanley Brice called an election the next day - and lost. #auspol | |
| Stanley Bruce took that loss as a de facto loss of confidence, which is why he called the election. | |
| This government doesn’t have to accept the loss as a no confidence. As the House practices lays out: | |
| Withdrawal of confidence shown by defeat on other questions | |
| The withdrawal by the House of its confidence in the Government may be shown: | |
| By a direct vote of censure of or no confidence in the Government. | |
| By defeat on an issue central to government policy or rejecting a legislative measure proposed by the Government, the acceptance of which the Government has declared to be of vital importance. Conversely, a vote by the House agreeing to a particular legislative measure or provision contrary to the advice and consent of the Government could similarly be regarded as a matter of confidence. Following defeat a Government may choose to resign, as in April and August 1904, 1929 and 1941 (see page 322), or to seek a direct vote of confidence. | |
| By defeat of the Government on a vote not necessarily central to government policy but accepted by the Government as one of confidence, as in 1905, 1908, 1909 and 1931 (see page 322). | |
| A defeat of the Government in the House of Representatives does not necessarily mean it has lost the confidence of the House or that it ought to resign. As Jennings states: | |
| It must not be thought … that a single defeat necessarily demands either resignation or dissolution. Such a result follows only where the defeat implies loss of confidence … [259] | |
| What a Government will treat as a matter of sufficient importance to demand resignation or dissolution is, primarily, a question for the Government. The Opposition can always test the opinion of the House by a vote of no confidence. No Government [in the United Kingdom] since 1832 has failed to regard such a motion, if carried, as decisive. A House whose opinion was rejected has always at hand the ultimate remedy of the refusal of supply.[260] | |
| Some more of your snapshots: | |
| Greg: The major turn around and thus lowlight of the year was the brain snap of the Liberal Party in August. They shot themselves in the foot and have continued to do so while their feet are in their mouths since...fancy thinking the public would wear Peter Dutton when their best marketing politician Malcolm Turnbull was actually making headway. | |
| They even managed to sideline their best performing minister, Julie Bishop and lost the balance of power as well. | |
| They lost a safe blue ribbon seat and helped force the Victorian Liberal party into four more years in exile and possibly longer. | |
| They killed the chance for a climate and emissions/energy policy and ruined the chances of a win by the Coalition in NSW. And what was it all for? Payback by the far right? | |
| ...The highlight for the year was the children’s strike for climate change that was only soured by conservative politicians who abused them for giving voice to their concerns. | |
| These children in a very short time will vote and breathe a new life into politics which badly needs resuscitating. | |
| The regret of the year has to be Manus and Nauru but it has been the same regret for nearly a decade. | |
| Harry: I want to say that there are many who post BTL who have been standouts with their wit, drollery, their astute observations and sometimes biting comments. There has been many a coffee spurt caused by the usual suspects. Their contributions always enlivens the blog and infuriates the conservatives, which can only be a Good Thing.I hope every one has a safe and happy holiday period. With only ten sitting days in eight months coming up we politics tragics are going to go through withdrawal symptoms without Politics Live. | |
| Tony Abbott will be delivering his Indigenous Blueprint at 9.30 in the House. | |
| Compulsory reading, obvs | |
| The encryption bill debate will come to the House in the first session this morning, where it will be amended as per request of the PJCIS committee. | |
| The government amendments will be moved in the House and then once it is amended (which it will be because Labor is on board) then it goes to the Senate and then the security agencies can start sending out all those notices. | |
| Joy. | |
| Anyone who missed the encryption report being tabled, you’ll find it here. | |
| See – WORRIED | |
| The government has offered the cross benchers a briefing on Operation Sovereign Borders in an effort to derail today's vote on Nauru/Manus. Parliamentarians are permitted to bring one adviser @AmyRemeikis #auspol | |
| So, where are we on the asylum seeker medical evacuation bill? | |
| The motion to bring the amendments to the Migration Act back to the Senate, with the medical evacuations (with all the amendments including ministerial signoff, border protection and national security controls yadda yadda) has to pop up between 12.45pm and 1.50pm (just before Senate question time). | |
| Once passed there (and it looks to be happening with 39 votes out of the 76 Senate votes) it will head to the House after question time. | |
| If all the crossbenchers (bar Bob Katter) vote with Labor and the Greens, you are looking at 75 to 74 (minus whatever pairs are going on) and that’s the simple majority they need to have it passed. | |
| This is not a suspension of standing orders, which needs the absolute majority (75 plus one). It just needs more people on one side than the other. And that is why the government is so worried. | |
| Alan Jones and Scott Morrison also discussed Jim Molan, who was in an unwinnable position on the Liberals’ Senate ticket, made it to the Senate because none of our parliamentarians apparently knew where they came from, or how the constitution would deal with that, and is now back to an unwinnable position on the Senate ticket. (Again, thank you Gareth Hutchens.) | |
| Alan Jones: The Liberal party don’t want him, they put him in an unwinnable position. | |
| This has angered people enormously, you’d be aware of that. What of the future, what can you tell our listeners of the future of Senator Jim Molan? | |
| Morrison: Well, as you know Jim stood for that selection and it was the largest – | |
| Jones: And it was factionalised and stacked against him … | |
| Morrison: It was the largest Senate selection I think that has ever been held. | |
| Jones: He spoke brilliantly. | |
| Morrison: There were over 500 people. There was a whole bunch of people actually in the very conservative part of our party who didn’t show up, and that’s a bit strange as to why they didn’t show up and vote for him on that occasion. | |
| Jones: But you understand this is our fastest-growing demographic, the over-65s, 280,000 military veterans, and they are angry. What’s his future? | |
| Morrison: Well, where there’s an opportunity for Jim to continue to serve I’m sure he’ll put his hand up for something like that. | |
| Jones: No, no, no. Well, you put your hand up for him. | |
| Morrison: Well, I was the one who introduced him into the Liberal party, Alan. | |
| Jones: *laughs* We’re beaten by time, we could talk until midday. | |
| Morrison: I’m a big supporter of Jim but, I mean, he’s gotta be elected in accordance with the party process. | |
| Jones: Yeah, he’s got to meet the demands of the factions. You know that. | |
| Richard Di Natale said he was “reasonably confident” there was the support for the Nauru and Manus Island asylum seeker evacuations to occur. | |
| The government keeps telling us the “people smugglers will start right up again”. (This was Paul Fletcher, the latest government minister to have a journalist forget what he was responsible for live on air, after Fran Kelly forgetting Angus Taylor’s name on radio yesterday. It’s not our fault. There have been so many ministerial changes and we are all tired.) | |
| Fletcher told Sky that Labor was weakening border security by “playing games” in the parliament. | |
| But the government has also been telling us they have been removing children and their families from Nauru and want them all gone by the end of the year, and as far as I have seen, the borders haven’t crumbled. | |
| The amended Kerryn Phelps plan would need two doctors to sign off on a medical transfer. Then the minister would have to sign off on it. If the minister doesn’t, he or she would have to publish their reasons within three days, although the minister does have the power to reject transfers on national security or border protection grounds, which is a pretty broad field. | |
| If rejected, an independent health advisory panel would review the decision. | |
| Labor wants the minister to still control the powers (David Coleman), but put the focus on the advice of doctors. | |
| The government is freaking out because it would also apply to the men on Manus Island, where there are about 500 refugees (granted refugee status) and 126 asylum seekers (still waiting to be assessed) and that is something everyone has been fairly happy to ignore up to this point. | |
| There are 10 children still on Nauru. Four have been accepted for resettlement in the United States and four others will be staying on the island with their families (we are told by choice). | |
| While we are dealing with the day’s shenanigans, I’ll also be dropping in some of the notes you have sent through about what stood out to you about 2018 in Australian politics. Apologies if I don’t get to yours, but rest assured I will be reading them all. | While we are dealing with the day’s shenanigans, I’ll also be dropping in some of the notes you have sent through about what stood out to you about 2018 in Australian politics. Apologies if I don’t get to yours, but rest assured I will be reading them all. |
| From Paul: one that really grabbed (and moved) me was Susan Lamb’s very emotional speech about the circumstances of her citizenship mess back in February. It was a potent reminder of the very human lives behind the corflute facades. | From Paul: one that really grabbed (and moved) me was Susan Lamb’s very emotional speech about the circumstances of her citizenship mess back in February. It was a potent reminder of the very human lives behind the corflute facades. |
| John: That the “Liberals” dumped their leader for being too moderate. Too, well ... , liberal, in fact. Extraordinary! | |
| Stephen: Having stayed at home to watch the TV coverage of Malcom Turnbull’s overthrow, upon being made aware that the unrecognisable man at Malcolm Turnbull’s side was Arthur Sinodinos, who must have struggled to Canberra, to support his friend on that dark day, emotion got the better of me and I totally lost it at that point. | Stephen: Having stayed at home to watch the TV coverage of Malcom Turnbull’s overthrow, upon being made aware that the unrecognisable man at Malcolm Turnbull’s side was Arthur Sinodinos, who must have struggled to Canberra, to support his friend on that dark day, emotion got the better of me and I totally lost it at that point. |
| Jasper: Regardless, because of how laughable of a job these old LNP dinosaurs have been doing, its given me serious ambition to attempt a political career. So in the rare chance I end up in State or Federal Parliament in my future, thanks for initiating that. | Jasper: Regardless, because of how laughable of a job these old LNP dinosaurs have been doing, its given me serious ambition to attempt a political career. So in the rare chance I end up in State or Federal Parliament in my future, thanks for initiating that. |
| Regarding what I will remember from 2018, it will definitely be Turnbull, Frydenberg and Morrison giving half a billion dollars to a 6-man company with serious ties to the fossil-fuel industry; considering that was the mouse that broke the camel’s back for me to jump into Australia’s politics from the deep end. | Regarding what I will remember from 2018, it will definitely be Turnbull, Frydenberg and Morrison giving half a billion dollars to a 6-man company with serious ties to the fossil-fuel industry; considering that was the mouse that broke the camel’s back for me to jump into Australia’s politics from the deep end. |
| For those wondering how we got to this point on the Nauru bill, let’s just pop back yesterday when this was happening, as reported by Katharine Murphy. | |
| Tim Storer is currently attempting to build numbers for a motion that would allow a government proposal, an amendment to the Migration Act, to come back on for debate in the chamber tonight. | Tim Storer is currently attempting to build numbers for a motion that would allow a government proposal, an amendment to the Migration Act, to come back on for debate in the chamber tonight. |
| In the event that succeeds (and Labor would need to support it for it to succeed) there will be an attempt to insert extra amendments that would allow people to be taken off Nauru in certain conditions – so mirroring the Phelps bill with some extra conditions Labor is insisting on: that people being removed on medical advice need to have passed a character test and not be the subject of a pre-existing adverse assessment by Asio. | |
| The object of this exercise is to try to insert these new provisions in the Migration Act and get a motion of concurrence to the House of Representatives, where a simple majority is required to bring on debate in the lower house. | |
| So the success of this plan does largely rely on when this gets through the Senate – timing is everything. It has to happen with enough time that it can get to the House and be dealt with, which would be early to mid afternoon. | So the success of this plan does largely rely on when this gets through the Senate – timing is everything. It has to happen with enough time that it can get to the House and be dealt with, which would be early to mid afternoon. |
| Michael McCormack Michael McCormacked his way through a Sky interview this morning, where he too said the medical evacuation bill would water down the nation’s border security policies, despite the government also removing children from Nauru under medical advice. | Michael McCormack Michael McCormacked his way through a Sky interview this morning, where he too said the medical evacuation bill would water down the nation’s border security policies, despite the government also removing children from Nauru under medical advice. |
| That’s different, apparently, because – reasons. | That’s different, apparently, because – reasons. |
| .@Kieran_Gilbert: You still say Labor’s record is terrible, but you still haven’t resolved these outstanding cases. @M_McCormackMP: It takes a long time to resolve 50,000 people coming to Australia. MORE: https://t.co/G0O71RRTZK #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/2j9rfwqhx7 | .@Kieran_Gilbert: You still say Labor’s record is terrible, but you still haven’t resolved these outstanding cases. @M_McCormackMP: It takes a long time to resolve 50,000 people coming to Australia. MORE: https://t.co/G0O71RRTZK #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/2j9rfwqhx7 |
| Scott Morrison started his morning on 2GB, talking to Alan Jones. Here is how the conversation on the Nauru bill played out, as transcribed by Gareth Hutchens, who took one for the team and volunteered to do it, after seeing my face this morning: | Scott Morrison started his morning on 2GB, talking to Alan Jones. Here is how the conversation on the Nauru bill played out, as transcribed by Gareth Hutchens, who took one for the team and volunteered to do it, after seeing my face this morning: |
| Alan Jones: There’s talk of a humiliating defeat for you, and a vote is going to take place in the parliament on what I might loosely call the Phelps bill – the woman’s been there for five minutes. | Alan Jones: There’s talk of a humiliating defeat for you, and a vote is going to take place in the parliament on what I might loosely call the Phelps bill – the woman’s been there for five minutes. |
| To put this simply, Labor and the Greens are now voting to say if you’re on Nauru or Manus Island you can come to Australia on the advice of two doctors. Is this starting up the people smuggling trade? Here is Labor opening the door. There’s a powerful political point for you. | To put this simply, Labor and the Greens are now voting to say if you’re on Nauru or Manus Island you can come to Australia on the advice of two doctors. Is this starting up the people smuggling trade? Here is Labor opening the door. There’s a powerful political point for you. |
| Scott Morrison: Yes it is. It’s exactly what it is. I mean Labor, as we know, will always get rid of temporary protection visas. That’s something I had introduced, restored, when I was immigration minister. | Scott Morrison: Yes it is. It’s exactly what it is. I mean Labor, as we know, will always get rid of temporary protection visas. That’s something I had introduced, restored, when I was immigration minister. |
| Remember, we had three key components of what we did to stop the boats: temporary protection visas, offshore processing, and turning back boats. | Remember, we had three key components of what we did to stop the boats: temporary protection visas, offshore processing, and turning back boats. |
| They already said they’re not going to do temporary protection visas and, in this bill today, they will be abandoning offshore processing as we know it. | They already said they’re not going to do temporary protection visas and, in this bill today, they will be abandoning offshore processing as we know it. |
| It is a green light, coming from Labor teaming up with the Greens, to basically completely crumble offshore processing in this country. And they’re doing it for one pathetic reason. To try to play some games in the House of Representatives. It shows a complete and total, um, lack of commitment in the need for strong border protection in this country. | It is a green light, coming from Labor teaming up with the Greens, to basically completely crumble offshore processing in this country. And they’re doing it for one pathetic reason. To try to play some games in the House of Representatives. It shows a complete and total, um, lack of commitment in the need for strong border protection in this country. |
| They wonder why they let 50,000 people in on 800 boats. It’s because of this. They don’t believe in having stronger borders. This is an absolutely destructive and irresponsible and reckless move by the Labor party and it tells you everything you’ve always known about them and border protection. They cannot be trusted. They are weak as when it comes to border protection. | They wonder why they let 50,000 people in on 800 boats. It’s because of this. They don’t believe in having stronger borders. This is an absolutely destructive and irresponsible and reckless move by the Labor party and it tells you everything you’ve always known about them and border protection. They cannot be trusted. They are weak as when it comes to border protection. |
| Jones: You and Tony Abbott were responsible for turning back the boats, I’m quite surprised that a party trying to win government would play to the strengths of its opponent. This is a powerful point for you. | Jones: You and Tony Abbott were responsible for turning back the boats, I’m quite surprised that a party trying to win government would play to the strengths of its opponent. This is a powerful point for you. |
| Just for our listeners to understand simply, Labor and the Greens today will, it’s said, team up with key independents to allow refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island to be transferred to Australia on the advice of two doctors. | Just for our listeners to understand simply, Labor and the Greens today will, it’s said, team up with key independents to allow refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island to be transferred to Australia on the advice of two doctors. |
| So the old people smuggling trade will be smiling, won’t they? | So the old people smuggling trade will be smiling, won’t they? |
| Morrison: Oh, they’ll be smiling – and they’ll be hoping there’s more to come. | Morrison: Oh, they’ll be smiling – and they’ll be hoping there’s more to come. |
| Jones: Will you lose this vote? Is it clear that you’ll lose the vote? | Jones: Will you lose this vote? Is it clear that you’ll lose the vote? |
| Morrison: Not 100% clear, you know, we’re in a minority government so we’re working hard to try and defeat it. | Morrison: Not 100% clear, you know, we’re in a minority government so we’re working hard to try and defeat it. |
| But the other thing to bear in mind in all of this is that the Labor party think they’ve got this election in the bag, and this is on this side of the election, in opposition. Imagine what they’ll be like on the other side, in government. This is a team of people who let 50,000 people on 800 boats; 1,200 people died; 6,000 children went into detention. Now they can’t kid themselves this is about getting children off Nauru. There are only 10 children on Nauru. Only 10. There are four of those children who actually don’t wish to leave. | But the other thing to bear in mind in all of this is that the Labor party think they’ve got this election in the bag, and this is on this side of the election, in opposition. Imagine what they’ll be like on the other side, in government. This is a team of people who let 50,000 people on 800 boats; 1,200 people died; 6,000 children went into detention. Now they can’t kid themselves this is about getting children off Nauru. There are only 10 children on Nauru. Only 10. There are four of those children who actually don’t wish to leave. |
| Jones: There are 65 medical officers on Nauru, aren’t there? | Jones: There are 65 medical officers on Nauru, aren’t there? |
| Morrison: Exactly. | Morrison: Exactly. |
| Jones: Has Kerryn Phelps ever been to Nauru? | Jones: Has Kerryn Phelps ever been to Nauru? |
| Morrison: Ah, not to my knowledge, no. | Morrison: Ah, not to my knowledge, no. |
| Jones: *scoffs* | Jones: *scoffs* |
| Morrison: And there are people voting on this bill in the Senate who we’ve offered briefings to from the security agencies and they’ve refused them. | Morrison: And there are people voting on this bill in the Senate who we’ve offered briefings to from the security agencies and they’ve refused them. |
| Jones: Isn’t it offensive to the people of Nauru, to the Nauruans, to start telling the world that everyone who’s living there is unsafe, unhealthy and uncared for? | Jones: Isn’t it offensive to the people of Nauru, to the Nauruans, to start telling the world that everyone who’s living there is unsafe, unhealthy and uncared for? |
| Morrison: Yes, it is terribly offensive. And it’s actually potentially racist. And this is why I’ve never understood why Australians would be so disrespectful to Nauruans. Um, so we’re not talking about kids here. What we’re talking about is single adult males, some of which won’t even be refugees, sitting over in Manus Island, you know, and we’re not talking about, you know, people you’d happily have just come and live next door. | Morrison: Yes, it is terribly offensive. And it’s actually potentially racist. And this is why I’ve never understood why Australians would be so disrespectful to Nauruans. Um, so we’re not talking about kids here. What we’re talking about is single adult males, some of which won’t even be refugees, sitting over in Manus Island, you know, and we’re not talking about, you know, people you’d happily have just come and live next door. |
| Jones: Well, it’s the psychology of it as well, it’s the asylum seeker trade see a window now to get into Australia via the backdoor, that’s the psychology of it. | Jones: Well, it’s the psychology of it as well, it’s the asylum seeker trade see a window now to get into Australia via the backdoor, that’s the psychology of it. |
| Morrison: Well, you look for the weakness. And the weakness is Bill Shorten. And the weakness is Bill Shorten on the economy. And the weakness is Bill Shorten on taxes. And the weakness is Bill Shorten on high electricity. I mean, Bill Shorten is the weakness. | Morrison: Well, you look for the weakness. And the weakness is Bill Shorten. And the weakness is Bill Shorten on the economy. And the weakness is Bill Shorten on taxes. And the weakness is Bill Shorten on high electricity. I mean, Bill Shorten is the weakness. |
| Welcome to the final sitting day of 2018. It is shaping up to be an absolute doozy. | Welcome to the final sitting day of 2018. It is shaping up to be an absolute doozy. |
| The government, for the first time in decades (at least 80 years, according to the AFR’s Phil Coorey) faces losing a legislative battle in the House. | The government, for the first time in decades (at least 80 years, according to the AFR’s Phil Coorey) faces losing a legislative battle in the House. |
| Procedural losses happen all the time. But it’s pretty rare to lose on legislation. But that looks very possible after the crossbench, the Greens and Labor, appear to have worked out away to get a version of Kerryn Phelps’ medical evacuation bill through the parliament. | Procedural losses happen all the time. But it’s pretty rare to lose on legislation. But that looks very possible after the crossbench, the Greens and Labor, appear to have worked out away to get a version of Kerryn Phelps’ medical evacuation bill through the parliament. |
| It looks as though they have the numbers in the Senate, and Fairfax’s David Crowe reports that the alliance may have worked out a way to attach the medical evacuations to another migration bill the government has before the House. | It looks as though they have the numbers in the Senate, and Fairfax’s David Crowe reports that the alliance may have worked out a way to attach the medical evacuations to another migration bill the government has before the House. |
| It’s a big deal. And it is very possible it could happen. | It’s a big deal. And it is very possible it could happen. |
| We’ll be following that, plus encryption, now that the committee report has been tabled (you can see how that played out here, from Paul Karp and Mike Bowers), plus there is always the ongoing energy battle. | We’ll be following that, plus encryption, now that the committee report has been tabled (you can see how that played out here, from Paul Karp and Mike Bowers), plus there is always the ongoing energy battle. |
| The day has got off to a running start, and I am on my second coffee, so with Bowers and Guardian brains trust already onboard, we’re going to get straight into it. | The day has got off to a running start, and I am on my second coffee, so with Bowers and Guardian brains trust already onboard, we’re going to get straight into it. |
| Strap in – this is going to be a bumpy 12+ hours. | Strap in – this is going to be a bumpy 12+ hours. |