Labor dumps misinformation laws, delays gambling ad reform, picks fight on housing in final week of parliament for 2024

Labor has ditched controversial misinformation laws and delayed gambling ad reform but will force a vote on housing legislation to wedge the Greens in the final week of parliament for 2024.

Labor’s controversial misinformation laws are in tatters with the federal government withdrawing a planned vote on the friendless proposal, while gambling ad restrictions are put on ice and time is running out to reach a deal on housing and environment bills.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has welcomed the Albanese Government’s decision to dump its “dodgy” misinformation and disinformation legislation, which he described as a “scandalous attack on free speech, with censorship at its core”.

The Albanese Government has withdrawn its misinformation and disinformation bill. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Labor failed to secure support from either the Coalition, who argued the bill sought to make “unelected bureaucrats the arbiters of truth” or the Greens who felt the proposal left too much power in the hands of tech companies and unfairly exempted media organisations.

Independent senators including David Pocock, Jacqui Lambie, Tammy Tyrrell, Fatima Payman and Gerard Rennick also objected to the bill.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has welcomed Labor dumping the misinformation bill. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Mr Dutton said Anthony Albanese should rule out any future iteration of the misinformation legislation, which had aimed to force tech giants to stop falsehoods spreading online before they caused serious harm.

Labor lost significant time and political capital fighting for the changes this term, and will no head to the election – due by May at the latest – with nothing to show for those efforts.

The government has a huge to-do list in the final sitting week before the summer break, with changing the HECS indexation rate for university debts, electoral funding reform, aged care changes and raising the minimum social media age to 16 years among the major bills expected to pass parliament.

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has criticised the Greens for blocking Labor’s proposals to help increase rentals and help first home buyers. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

But Labor has kicked plans for gambling ad restrictions into the new year, a move Mr Dutton described as a “cowardly and craven capitulation”.

The government will forge ahead with a vote on two of it’s housing proposals, a “Help to Buy” shared equity scheme designed to help first home buyers, and a “Build to Rent” plan aimed at increasing the number of rentals in Australia.

The Greens have abandoned demands such as a two-year freeze on rent increases and changes to negative gearing in favour of other asks, including that the government immediately fund 25,000 new home builds and increase the number of affordable rentals under the Build to Rent scheme.

But Labor has dismissed the new requests, arguing the new builds would cost upward of $20 billion and the other requests would make the proposals untenable.

Housing and Homelessness Minister Clare O’Neil said the Greens had consistently “blocked and delayed action on the housing crisis”.

“You get the distinct impression the Greens want Australians to continue to be in housing distress, so Adam Bandt can try to harvest those grievances into votes,” she said.

Greens Environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young says she wants to work with Labor to pass legislation, but wants native forest logging banned. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Labor’s nature positive laws, which would create an Environmental Protection Authority that would be able to impose much heavier fines for breaches that damage the environment, are also tenuously placed.

The Greens dropped their demand for a climate trigger to be included in any environmental approvals, but the party’s Environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young has called on Labor to end native forest logging instead.

Ms Hanson-Young insisted the Greens had been “pragmatic” in ongoing talks with the government, and was “trying to get outcomes” in the parliament.

Ahead of the final sitting week, Government leader of the house Tony Burke said delivering on cost of living relief had been Labor’s “number one” priority in 2024.

“Peter Dutton and the Coalition have tried to block every cost of living measure this year,” he said.

“We will continue delivering for Australians despite their obsession with saying no.”