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Emma Husar to sue BuzzFeed for defamation as Senate votes on Nauru bill – politics live
Coalition gives up on encryption powers to foil Nauru bill – politics live
(35 minutes later)
Emma Husar’s full statement to the House:
Labor’s Penny Wong is now seeking to clarify or amend Mathias Cormann’s motion to ensure that the Senate will still deal with BOTH the medical transfer bill and the encryption bill this afternoon.
On many occasions, I wish to correct the record on at least four of those now.
Richard Di Natalewants to know if the house has adjourned. He says that “as a result of the tactics of both parties” the Senate is now being asked to guillotine debate to vote on laws to allow spying on Australian citizens, and “we’ll still see no change over Christmas to the torture ... of innocent people locked up [in offshore detention]”.
Too often during these past six months I have had to bite my tongue, and not defend myself publicly whilst being misrepresented.
Scott Ryan confirms the house has adjourned.Wong says that nobody watching proceedings could doubt that Labor, Greens, Centre Alliance, Derryn Hinch and Tim Storer were genuinely trying to pass the refugee bill.Wong blames the government for sending the house home, saying it is an “indictment” on their handling of national security.
I will not wait around for someone else to do what is right and show leadership.
So - after all that - we’re continuing with the medical transfer bill before we move to encryption.
Mr Speaker, there are two sides in every story, now is my turn to correct the record be my own champion and be the battler I have always been, in the pursuit of what is right and what is fair.
This will be the press conference where the government explains how it is not its fault the encryption laws it said were desperately needed were not passed because Labor forced it to adjourn the House at 4.30pm.
Mr Speaker, I do not object to the media doing their jobs, but misrepresenting members is not in their job description. I respect those who have shown good ethical conduct when reporting.
To be clear, the government has the power to extend the sitting. As it does, every day.
Let me be VERY specific.
It is choosing not to, because it doesn’t want to lose a legislative vote.
At 9.33am on August 2, Ms Alice Workman of Buzzfeed published the most damaging article.
With the sub head of “URGENT” Christian Porter’s office has called a press conference for 4.45pm.
In it claimed she had requested my comment.
After hours of Labor, the Greens and crossbench voting together against the government on the medical transfer bill - finally a break.
This is false.
Labor is now voting with the government on a motion to end the refugee debate, because it’s clear the 4:30pm deadline to move it to the house has not been met.
At 9:34am, one minute after publication, she emailed me, requesting comment and answers to those 48 questions for the article that she had already published. I had no chance to refute or respond.
Richard Di Natale is outraged, telling Wong as she crosses to vote with the government: “You won’t help refugees but you’re voting with them to help ram through spying legislation
At 9.35am she further tweeted that I had bragged about who I was having sex with, that I sexually harassed an employee and intentionally exposed myself like Sharon Stone’s character in Basic Instinct. In front of a colleague and his infant son.
It’s official.
As a result of the initial misrepresentation, over 225 articles were republished each and every single one of them, misrepresenting me in so many respects.
If Labor holds the Encryption Bill as a hostage in the Senate for their cheap political games on border protection, it is on their heads. We will not be waiting for the Senate to pass superfluous amendments on the Encryption Bill. #auspol
Within 36 hours of this gross misrepresentation and the slut-shaming smears going viral, I was told to resign as the member for Lindsay … Mr Speaker – let me correct the record.
Tony Burke is delivering a speech announcing the “government has given up”.
Buzzfeed and Alice Workman knew they had a confidential letter, which contained untested and contested allegations.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Senate:
They also knew I was bound by confidentiality under the Whelan process, but they went ahead and published their slut-shaming story, knowing it would go viral.
Cory Bernardi: Can I see leave to wish everyone a Merry Christmas because I'm out of here
Let me correct the record: They didn’t give me any notice in advance, they didn’t give me the opportunity to seek a release from my confidentiality obligations so that I could respond, they didn’t give me any opportunity to try to use our legal system to preserve the confidential process until it had properly played out.
That gives the government less than five minutes to extend the sitting (as they do every single day)
In furtherance of me correcting the record today Mr Speaker, I have launched proceedings for defamation in the Federal Court against Buzzfeed and Alice Workman who were involved in this shameless misrepresentation and subsequent takedown.
It doesn’t look like that will happen.
Sunlight is the best disinfectant and today I bathe those misrepresentations in a flood of light.
So the encryption bill is also delayed.
To remind them they are not above the rule of law in this great country of ours.
It is five minutes to midnight (midnight, in this case, being the House rising for 2018).
Mr Speaker… I am not a bully. I am not Sharon Stone. I am not a thief, and I did not deliberately misuse my work expenses.
Now that it’s obvious the 4.30pm deadline will not be met, the Senate has broken down.
I will fight for my integrity, for my family and for Lindsay, which is full of battlers just like me and fight for the women who come after me.
First Penny Wong and Mathias Cormann blamed each other for the failure to pass the encryption bill.
I’m going to do my bit to make sure this never happens again.
And now Richard Di Natale is up unloading on them both:
It’s the most wonderful time of the year:
This is everything that’s wrong with this place. You should be ashamed of yourselves – both of you. Those last two speeches didn’t even mention refugees. We’re trying to get refugees out of offshore detention where they are being tortured.”
Tweeted during the Parliamentary christmas valedictory speeches 👇 https://t.co/oHAAR6NDxA
The cross bench team leave the chamber Rebekha Sharkie, Julia Banks, Dr Kerryn Phelps and a Cathy McGowan @AmyRemeikis @murpharoo @GuardianAus #PoliticsLive https://t.co/tj67JpI7ls pic.twitter.com/oNZ7KmYSll
#grownupgovernment in @AuSenate ... Government members have now wasted exactly 2 hours to prevent Senate from supporting bill & delay transmission to house. #chaos #auspol
I swear to Beyoncé, if I have to listen to those division bells one more time, I will not be responsible for what happens.
In the Senate right now, every single amendment is being broken into parts and voted on separately. I have never seen this happen before.
The government senators and those helping them are moving as slow as possible between each amendment.
If this is taken past 4.30, it won’t make it back to the lower house in time.
The government seems to be choosing to give up the encryption legislation passing to make sure this bill doesn’t come to the house.
The Storer-McKim amendments have passed 32-30 and 32-29. Bernardi abstained on one to make good his claim he wanted to vote differently on each. There are more government amendments, and Bernardi is still claiming he will vote differently on each as a stalling tactic.
Christopher Pyne is arguing that the encryption bill doesn’t need to come back to the House, because it has already passed the amendments.
But Labor are moving different amendments in the Senate.
We are no closer to working out if the government will suspend, but we have moved on to the Christmas valedictories.
“I am not a bully, I am not Sharon Stone, I am not a thief and I did not deliberately misuse my work expenses.
“... I am going to do my bit to ensure this never happens again.”
Julian Hill gives Emma Husar’s hand a squeeze.
Emma Husar is talking about the original BuzzFeed report which eventually led to her resignation.
She says she wasn’t given “any notice in advance” or any opportunity to review the confidential requirements she was under.
She says she has launched defamation proceedings against BuzzFeed and Alice Workman.
Derryn Hinch points out that Scott Ryan called the result of one division incorrectly. Bernardi helpfully offers: “Well let’s go through and have a new vote on everything.” Ryan says his inadvertent error will be corrected. Mathias Cormann is now asking for toilet breaks.
She says she has been misrepresented “on too many occasions”.
Husar says she has not been defended, so she is going to do it herself.
In fact most of the MPs from both sides stay in the chamber.
Christopher Pyne moves the leave of absence for all MPs.
But Scott Morrison stays in the chamber.
That’s rare.
Question time officially ends.
Division is lost 72 to 68
This has become a complete and utter farce:
This is just a farce.Senators are physically and verbally filibustering by walking across the chamber slowly and moving absurd points of over.
The crossbench women have gathered at the back of the chamber.
They abstain from this vote to suspend standing orders.
