Bonk bans, spills and scandals: Bizarre moments from the 45th Parliament

What a time to be alive — the 45th Parliament had enough drama to script a long-running soap opera. Here’s a look back at the craziest moments.

Sex scandals, a leadership spill, the longest Question Time in history and a dual citizenship scandal that cost Australians millions and saw 15 politicians punted from parliament — it’s been a wild ride since Malcolm Turnbull and the Coalition were re-elected in July 2016.

Here’s a look back at the craziest moments of the 45th parliament as Aussies prepare to head to the polls on May 18.

LIVE BLOG: Scott Morrison calls federal election

Why the PM chose to send voters to the polls on May 18

1) The bonk ban sparked by the Barnaby Joyce affair

When then-Deputy Prime Minister refused to resign as leader of the National Party after his scandal rocked parliament, Malcolm Turnbull announced a ban on ministers, regardless of whether they are married or single, from having sex with their staff.

Barnaby Joyce’s affair sparked a parliament wide ‘bonk ban’ imposed by then-PM Malcolm Turnbull. Picture: Damian Shaw

Turnbull was out and Morrison was in a matter of days. Picture: AAP

2) Leadership spill against Malcolm Turnbull

In August 2018 chaos reigned parliament again when Peter Dutton challenged Turnbull’s leadership, Dutton was toppled by Scott Morrison in a follow-up spill and within a few days we went from a Turnbull-led country to a Morrison-led one.

3) The Citizenship Saga

It began mid 2017 and lasted a year. The citizenship confusion forced 15 politicians to leave parliament over it and sparked by-elections all of the country. On top of this the saga resulted in multiple High Court cases — all at a cost to the taxpayer.

Pauline Hanson’s burqa stunt stunned the nation. Picture: AAP

4) Pauline Hanson’s burqa stunt

A year before Turnbull was toppled, the August 2017 headlines were dominated by Pauline Hanson wearing a burqa in the Senate. The One Nation leader caused plenty of fire and fury when she arrived in the chamber for question time dressed in the religious garment, as she called to ban the burqa citing national security concerns.

Hanson (centre) defended her right hand man James Ashby (left) and Steve Dickson after both were caught in an Al-Jazeera investigation which filmed them discussing donations from US gun lobbys. Picture: AAP

5) One Nation stung by Al Jazeera gun donation investigation

Hanson and her party jumped on the offensive after a journalist secretly filmed One Nation staffer James Ashby and senate candidate for Queensland Steve Dickson during meetings with gun lobby representatives. They discussed potential donations and how they could wind back Australia’s gun laws.

James Ashby and then-Senator Brian Burston clashed in Parliament House. Picture: Geoff Chambers/The Australian

6) One Nation fight: Ashby v Brian Burston

Tensions between Pauline Hanson’s right hand man James Ashby and former senator Brian Burston got physical in the Great Hall of parliament after Burston claimed that he had been sexually harassed by Hanson. Hanson denied the claim and hit back with allegations of her own. Photos of Burston’s bloodied and bandaged hand surfaced after the scuffle.

Andrew Broad resigned after allegations were published that he used a “sugar baby” website to meet young women. Picture: Gary Ramage

7) Andrew Broad’s sugar baby scandal

The Nationals MP resigned after New Idea published allegations he used a “sugar baby” website to meet young women while at a conference in Hong Kong. He later said it was a “dumb mistake” and quit to avoid becoming a laughing stock. At the time it was revealed the woman at the centre of the allegations Amy Keating sent Broad a text demanding money for her silence. Broad never paid the money and instead went to the Australian Federal Police.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm have been caught in a bitter dispute for more than a year. Picture: AAP

8) Sarah Hanson-Young v David Leyonhjelm over ‘slut shaming’ comments

The Greens senator accused Leyonhjelm of ‘slut shaming’ when he told her to “stop shagging men” during a parliamentary debate about violence against women. The matter dragged out for months and has ended up in court after Hanson-Young sued Leyonhjelm for interviews he gave to Sky News and 3AW. Hanson-Young claimed she was defamed by his portrayal of her as a hypocrite and misandrist.

Cory Bernardi didn’t like the way the Liberals were doing things so he went out on his own. Picture: Kym Smith

9) Cory Bernardi quits

The South Australian senator sensationally quit the Liberal party in 2017 to start his own, Australian Conservatives. At the time he accused the Liberals of ignoring his calls to restore the faith in the country’s political system.

Lucy Gichuhi left Family First to team up with the Liberals. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

10) Senate switcheroo

Bernardi wasn’t the only one to go on his own or jump ship to join a different party.

Lucy Gichuhi left Family First for the Liberals, Fraser Anning quit One Nation to go independent, Rod Culleton and Brian Burston also resigned from ON, Steve Martin quit Jacqui Lambie Network to team up with the Nationals and Tim Storer left Nick Xenophon’s Centre Alliance to sit as an independent.

Julia Banks quit the Liberal party claiming she had issues with the way they treated women. Picture: Kym Smith

11) Julia Banks quit Liberals

One of the most controversial quitters of the last year was Julia Banks decision to leave the Liberals citing their treatment of women. She called for equal representation of men and women in parliament as focus turned to the lack of female representation within her former party. Banks moved to the crossbench to sit as an independent.

12) Medivac milestone

When the Medivac bill passed parliament it signalled a historic loss for the Morrison government. From there it led to new concerns about Australia’s border protection and the Prime Minister announcing that Christmas Island detention centre would be reopened.

Australians voted for marriage laws to be changed to allow same-sex marriage, with the Yes vote defeating No. Despite the Yes victory, the outcome of Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey was not binding, and the process to change current laws moved to parliament. Picture: Getty

13) Same-sex marriage gets green light

It was one of the craziest days the 45th parliament has seen and certainly the most inspirational. In December 2017 parliament passed same-sex marriage leading to joyous scenes of celebration on the House floor and across the nation. This followed a lengthy process including the expensive plebiscite which drew nationwide debate and international attention.

Sam Dastyari quit after it was revealed he allowed a company owned by a Chinese billionaire to pay a legal bill for his office. Picture: Jonathan Ng

14) Dastyari resigns over ties to Chinese companies

Then Labor senator Sam Dastyari announced he would quit, late 2017. It was revealed he allowed a company owned by Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo to pay a legal bill for his office. He later conceded that accepting the donation was “within the rules but it was wrong”. Then reports emerged that he had spoken at a Chinese media conference about the South China Sea, going against Labor Party policy.

15) Turnbull and Trump’s ‘unpleasant’ phone call

The conversation between the then-PM and US president did not go well when Turnbull attempted to raise the issue of the refugee swap deal that had been promised by Obama. Trump accused Turnbull of using America as a dumping ground. Trump cited San Bernardino and the September 11 attacks as reasons not to resettle up to 2000 people from Manus Island and Nauru. Trump told Turnbull he was “worse than I am” when he explained Australia’s stance on boat people. Trump accused Turnbull of making him look bad with a “stupid deal” and that their conversation was his most unpleasant call with a world leader to date.

The relationship between Donald Trump and Malcolm Turnbull started off rocky. Picture: Nathan Edwards

16) Turnbull v Trump round 2

In June 2017 the then-PM was recorded mocking the US president delivering an impersonation of Trump in a speech at the press gallery midwinter ball. His impersonation had the crowd in stitches but when it leaked he was forced to defend it as lighthearted and affectionate.

17) A very long Question Time

Scott Morrison made history for dragging out the longest Question Time ever — to two and a half hours — to avoid having a vote on whether to launch a disability royal commission. The same day, Valentines Day, was the day James Ashby was banned from parliament following his altercation with Brian Burston.

18) Pyne and Hunt tweet porn

Australia’s longest serving MP Christopher Pyne was forced to defend himself and blame hackers for his Twitter account liking a gay porn video. Pyne accused hackers of targeting him over the same-sex marriage plebiscite. Earlier this year health minister Greg Hunt’s twitter account liked a tweet that criticised Scott Morrison. The tweet was penned by opposition leader Bill Shorten. It’s not the first time Hunt got into hot water over Twitter, in 2017 his account liked a pornography tweet by user BBW CUM PUMPER 69.

Tony Abbott on Manly Beach, he said there was no evidence of climate change there. Picture: Jane Dempster/The Australian.

19) Abbott’s revealing climate change speech

The former PM delivered a bizarre speech before the Global Warming Policy foundation in London. He told the audience that even if climate change is real, it could be good because more people die in cold snaps. He also declared he could see no evidence of climate change at Sydney’s iconic Manly Beach. The speech led Labor’s Tanya Plibersek to say it was “just nuts” and “loopy”.

Bob Katter’s comments saying the north Queensland crocodile problem was more important than same-sex marriage immediately went viral. Picture: Zak Simmonds

20) Katter’s segue of the century

The outspoken MP made a very bizarre statement in a press conference during the same-sex marriage debate — saying he wasn’t going to spend any time pondering the issue while people were being killed by crocodiles in north Queensland. The comment immediately went viral and left political commentators and the country in stitches.

Fraser Anning’s maiden speech sparked nationwide outrage. Picture: Kym Smith

21) Fraser Anning’s maiden speech

Anning’s first speech to parliament called for a ban on Muslims migrating to Australia. The then Katter Party senator was quickly condemned for praising the White Australia policy. He was also slammed for referencing the “final solution” a phrase used in Nazi Germany under Hitler, referring to the killing of Jewish people. Anning has since been caught up in multiple controversies for his far right wing views and excessive parliamentary spending.

Originally published as Bonk bans, spills and scandals: Bizarre moments from the 45th Parliament