PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE – AUSTRALIA

Labor’s hate speech laws pass Senate in late-night vote as Nationals split from Liberals to oppose bill

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tom McIlroy, Dan Jervis-Bardy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 21-Jan-26

The federal government’s hate speech bill has been passed by both houses of parliament, after Labor secured a deal with Opposition leader Sussan Ley regarding further changes to the legislation. Amongst other things, the legislation creates a new aggravated offence for religious or spiritual leaders who advocate violence, while people who join designated hate groups or provide them with funding could be jailed. The Senate voted 38-22 to pass the bill late on Tuesday night, despite the Nationals voting against it after all of their proposed amendments where rejected; the bill had been passed by the lower house earlier in the day. Meanwhile, the government’s legislation to establish a national gun buyback scheme has been passed with the support of the Greens.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Labor’s hate speech laws set to pass as Ley and Albanese cut deal on bill crafted in wake of Bondi terror attack

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Dan Jervis-Bardy, Tom McIlroy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Jan-26

The National Party will seek additional protections regarding the banning of hate groups when parliament debates the federal government’s hate speech laws today. However, sources within the Liberal Party say that the legislation is likely to be passed even without the Nationals’ support, after Liberal MPs agreed to vote in favour of the revised bill. Opposition leader Sussan Ley had described the previous omnibus bill as "pretty unsalvageable", but the Coalition agreed to back the hate speech provisions after Labor accepted the need to legislate gun control laws separately and make a number of changes to the hate speech bill. Legislation to establish a national gun buyback scheme is expected to be passed with the support of the Greens.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Preach hate, go to prison: PM’s sermon

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sarah Ison, Elizabeth Pike
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Jan-26

The federal government aims to pass its omnibus bill on hate speech and gun control during a special two-day sitting of parliament next week. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged bipartisan support for the bill, but says he is open to "constructive suggestions" to improve it. Amongst other things, the bill is intended to target Islamic hate preachers and ban designated hate groups, with jail terms of up to 15 years for people who join or finance such groups. However, the Opposition has criticised the decision to address hate speech and a national gun buyback scheme in a single bill, contending that they are unrelated policy areas. There is also concern about an exemption from the hate speech laws if someone is merely quoting from religious texts.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Senator rejects Chalmers’ super tax offer

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 5-Feb-25

The federal government’s legislation to double the tax rate for superannuation funds with balances exceeding $3m requires the support of the Greens and at least three Senate crossbenchers. Lydia Thorpe and Fatima Payman are expected to support the bill, while Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock firmly oppose it. The support of Tasmanian independent Tammy Tyrell will therefore be crucial; however, she has rejected a deal to back the bill in retun for a commitment to proceed with a proposed ban on debit and credit card surcharges. Tyrell and a number of other crossbenchers are particularly concerned about the proposal to tax the unrealised gains of super funds. One Nation opposes the entire bill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

Opposition’s calls to change question time for Melbourne Cup labelled ‘ridiculous

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sezen Bakan
The New Daily – Page: Online : 11-Oct-24

Question time in federal parliament on 5 November is due to run from 2pm to 3pm, with the Melbourne Cup to be run on the same day at 3pm. Liberal MP Dan Tehan has described the schedule conflict as "un-Australian", and the Opposition is said to be pushing for question time on that day to be held at 10am instead. Bill Browne, director of the Democracy & Accountability Program at the Australia Institute, says he thinks most Australians would feel parliament sitting is more important than politicians watching the Melbourne Cup live. Australian National University and Griffith University Emeritus Professor in political science John Wanna has described the Opposition’s call to change question time to suit the Melbourne Cup as "ridiculous".

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

Bitterness set in motion: House fails on bipartisanship

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Packham, Rosie Lewis, Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 9-Oct-24

A condolence motion for victims of the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel was passed by the lower house on Tuesday, with the support of crossbenchers; the Greens abstained from voting. The Coalition also voted against the motion, because Opposition leader Peter Dutton had wanted it to focus solely on October 7. Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had agreed to a joint motion, but the latter wanted it to include clauses in support of a two-state solution and an end to the Middle East’s "cycle of violence". Albanese ultimately put his version of the motion to parliament, and Dutton accused him of rejecting the Coalition’s "more than reasonable position" for his own "domestic political advancement".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Double dissolution election threat is serious, says Labor

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 3-Oct-24

The Greens recently blocked the federal government’s Help to Buy legislation in the Senate, forcing a vote on the bill to be delayed until November. However, Housing Minister Claire O’Neil has confirmed that Labor intends to reintroduce the bill for a shared equity scheme to the lower house when parliament resumes next week. The bill could potentially be used as a trigger for a double dissolution election, and O’Neil says this remains a "live option". The window for a double dissolution election is very narrow, and the government is likely to stick to the regular election cycle.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

Small business lashes senators over insulting haste on IR bill

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 2 : 19-Dec-23

The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia has criticised the Senate for passing the Closing Loopholes Bill on federal parliament’s last sitting day for the year. COSBOA’s CEO Luke Achterstraat and chairman Matthew Addison have written to senators expressing their concern that the bill was passed too quickly and without consulting employers; this includes amendments that were only announced on the day the legislation was passed. COSBOA also contends that provisions of the bill that were hived off and will be voted on separately in 2024 should be abandoned.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Labor’s preventive detention regime passes Senate as third freed immigration detainee arrested

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 6-Dec-23

The Senate has passed the federal government’s preventative detention laws, which were introduced in response to the High Court’s landmark ruling on indefinite immigration detention. The bill was supported by the Coalition, which moved a motion for the Senate to immediately vote on the laws following revelations that a third former immigration detainee has been arrested and charged just weeks after being released. The convicted child sex offender faces three counts of having contact with a juvenile and using social media and a live chat facility in breach of his reporting obligations. The other two former detainees have respectively been charged with indecent assault and drug possession. The lower house will vote on the legislation on Thursday.

CORPORATES

Morrison, Gallagher deny misleading parliament over Higgins rape allegation

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Massola, Paul Sakkal
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 14-Jun-23

The Brittany Higgins rape case came under scrutiny in federal parliament on Tuesday. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher admitted to the Senate that she had been given information about Higgins’ allegation several days before it was reported in the media; however, Gallagher said she had been asked to keep that information to herself and did so. Gallagher also rejected suggestions that she had misled the Senate about when she had been informed of Higgins’ allegation. Meanwhile, former prime minister Scott Morrison also denied misleading parliament over his handling of the rape allegation. Bruce Lehrmann has consistently denied that he had raped Higgins.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE