Politics live: Wednesday February 13
Former prime minister Tony Abbott has taken an almighty swing at three members of the crossbench in a radio interview this afternoon.
- Tony Abbott slams crossbenchers
- ‘Hysterical, unhinged’: Furious response to PM
- ‘The beast is stirring’: People smuggler warning
- Peter Dutton unleashes on Shorten in Question Time
- ‘Can I finish?’: Morrison in testy exchange
- Second minister’s office drawn into leaking scandal
Welcome to news.com.au’s live politics blog.
The government is still dealing with the fallout from its historic defeat on the floor of the House — and Prime Minister Scott Morrison is fired up. Follow all the latest news live.
5:45pm
CASH FACES AWKWARD SPEECH
The Senate has voted to force Michaelia Cash to give a five-minute speech about the Australian Workers Union case in the Federal Court at 2pm tomorrow.
In court today, Ms Cash’s former media adviser revealed he gave advance notice of AFP raids on the offices of the Australian Workers’ Union to a staffer in Justice Minister Michael Keenan’s office.
David De Garis said he and the staffer, Michael Tetlow, discussed how to leak the information to the media, then Mr De Garis contacted paper reporters and Mr Tetlow talked to TV reporters.
In February 2018, a spokesman for Mr Keenan told Buzzfeed: “Neither the minister or anyone in his office informed media outlets prior to the execution of search warrants.”
5:15pm
TONY ABBOTT SLAMS CROSSBENCHERS
Tony Abbott has lashed out at the crossbenchers in an interview with 2GB host Ben Fordham, calling them “worse than Labor”.
“When it comes to border protection, Labor is bad but the independents are worse,” Mr Abbott said.
The former prime minister said there were three independents sitting in “what would normally be Liberal seats” who were “pretending to be Liberal-lite”.
“Well they’re not Liberal-lite, they’re worse than Labor,” he said.
“Don’t let these so-called independents fool you. When it comes to border protection and other topics, they are worse than Labor. They’re not Liberal-lite, they’re Labor in disguise, except in many instances they’re worse than Labor.”
It is probably worth noting that Mr Abbott is facing a challenge from one of these “Liberal-lite” independent, former Olympian Zali Steggall, in his own seat, Warringah.
On the subject of asylum seekers, Fordham pointed out that only those already on Manus Island and Nauru would be subject to the new medical transfer rules passed by parliament. Mr Abbott brushed that off.
“That’s not the message, Ben, that will be going out to the people smugglers.
“All they want is the money, they only want the money. And they’ll be saying to their potential customers: ‘Look what Labor have been able to do in opposition, just think what they’ll be able to do for you in government.’
“Get on a boat, get to Nauru, get sick, get to Australia automatically and stay in Australia.
“Now of course Labor will say that’s not what the fine print says, but hey, the people smugglers are not going to be drawing the fine print to the attention of their customers.”
The former prime minister said asylum seekers already received “the best possible medical treatment” on Nauru and Manus Island.
“They’re getting much better medical treatment on Manus and Nauru than is available in the average Australian country town.”
And he claimed many of them were economic migrants, rather than refugees.
“The reality is that lots of people on the Green-left think that anyone from a poor country has a right to come and live in Australia. Now I think that’s dead wrong. I think we have a right to control who comes to our country and the circumstances in which they come,” Mr Abbott said.
“They are jumping the queue. They are, I think, having a lend of us, many of these people, because they are economic migrants by and large.“
4:40pm
ALBO RESPONDS
Anthony Albanese followed Peter Dutton on Sky News to respond to the Home Affairs Minister’s claims.
“You can have strong border security without losing your soul,” Mr Albanese said.
“You can be tough on people smugglers without being weak on humanity.
“This has no impact whatsoever on the current border protection policy that is in place.”
.@AlboMP insists none of the clauses of the medivac legislation will impact on the current border protection regime, saying it acts 'simply to codify' assurances of medical care for the people on Manus and Nauru if they need it.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 13, 2019
MORE: https://t.co/YIvYYAkMyD #Speers pic.twitter.com/n5rffm0RQY
4:10pm
‘THE BEAST IS STIRRING’
Sky News political editor David Speers has reported that intelligence agencies believe “the beast is stirring” — the beast being the people smuggling trade.
Speers asked Peter Dutton about that assessment. The Home Affairs Minister refused to comment on specific advice he’d received, but he did speak generally.
“It’s a statement of the obvious that people smugglers have a particular interest in this, because they’re out to make a profit,” Mr Dutton said.
“They watch every word of every debate in this country. And if it’s stirring I think that was entirely predictable.”
“Will you state for the record that this new law that has been passed doesn’t apply to new arrivals?” Speers asked.
“It does not apply to new arrivals,” Mr Dutton admitted.
“It does create a problem though with the marketing in Indonesia.
“That nuance will be lost on the people in Indonesia.”
Mr Dutton said people smugglers would deceive their potential customers.
“If you think they are going to say to people ‘you can’t get to Australia’, you’re kidding yourself.”
3:30pm
PRESSURE ON TIM WILSON
Labor’s Tony Burke has asked the Speaker of the House to refer Liberal MP Tim Wilson to the privileges committee over the franking credit inquiry shenanigans.
Mr Wilson has been accused of using his position as chair of the House of Representatives’ economics committee to push a political agenda with its inquiry into Labor’s franking credits policy, which would scrap franking tax credit refunds enjoyed by about 800,000 retirees who pay no tax.
Much of the controversy revolves around a website — stoptheretirementtax.com.au — that Mr Wilson used to co-ordinate opposition to the policy. The site was partly funded by Geoff Wilson, a distant relative of the MP and founder of Wilson Asset Management.
2:50pm
‘ABSOLUTE MADNESS’
The government benches got very fired up as Attorney-General Christian Porter continued the attack on Labor over asylum seeker policy.
“There is no discretion for this government, or our minister, to stop the transfer of a person who is being investigated for, charged with or on trial for, or even awaiting sentence, for a serious criminal offence,” Mr Porter said of the medical transfer legislation.
“We are well aware of the reporting of a potential transferee on Manus Island charged with four counts of sexual penetration of a minor under the PNG Summary Cffences and Crimes Against Children Act.
“We are aware of another potential transferee who has been charged with an indecent act with a child under 16, detained in Nauru and is yet to have their first court appearance.
“There is another potential transferee charged with assault of a treating psychiatrist.
“None of those cases could result in the minister exercising the discretion to stop the transfer.
“Two doctors could initiate a process where the minister has no discretion to bring someone to Australia, who is charged with assaulting a doctor offshore, coming to Australia to get further assessment by a doctor onshore.
“We could not stop that transfer. That is absolute madness.”
2:25pm
PETER DUTTON UNLEASHES
Peter Dutton has absolutely cut loose during Question Time, claiming Bill Shorten’s support for the medical transfer bill would lead to dangerous asylum seekers coming to Australia.
“Have no doubt this man sitting opposite me is not fit to be the prime minister of this country,” Mr Dutton said.
“He has shown a reckless course of action that will see people coming from Manus Island who have been accused of being in sexual relationships with 14-year-old girls.
“There is a person who stands accused of murder in Iran who, under the Labor Party’s proposal, will have a right of entry into our country.”
There was a lot of shouting from the opposition benches at that point.
“They can scream all they like. They are the facts. They are the facts,” Mr Dutton said.
“Far from standing strong on borders, this Leader of the Opposition has demonstrated that he is even worse, that he is even weaker than Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard combined.”
2:05pm
LABOR TARGETS KEENAN
Labor has used Question Time to hone in on that explosive testimony in the Federal Court that Michaelia Cash’s former media adviser worked with a staffer in Justice Minister Michael Keenan’s office to leak news of an impending AFP raid to the media.
Mr Keenan’s office has previously denied leaking news of the raid.
“On March 1 last year, the minister confirmed to the House no less than three times that neither he, nor anyone in his office, informed media outlets prior to the execution of the search warrants. Does the minister stand by the three answers he gave?” Brendan O’Connor asked.
“The answer to the question is yes, I do stand by those statements,” Mr Keenan said.
“I was Justice Minister for 4.5 years. Every single day, myself and my office dealt with sensitive information. We had protocols associated with dealing with that information and we continue to make sure those protocols were adhered to in all circumstances.”
Labor followed up, asking whether Mr Keenan would repeat his answer outside parliament — without the protection of parliamentary privilege.
That question was ruled out of order.
1:30pm
SECOND MINISTER’S OFFICE DRAWN INTO SCANDAL
There’s been another explosive revelation in the Federal Court, with Michaelia Cash’s former media adviser revealing he gave advance notice of AFP raids on the offices of the Australian Workers’ Union to a staffer in Justice Minister Michael Keenan’s office.
David De Garis said he and the staffer, Michael Tetlow, discussed how to leak the information to the media, then Mr De Garis contacted paper reporters and Mr Tetlow talked to TV reporters.
In February 2018, a spokesman for Mr Keenan told Buzzfeed: “Neither the minister or anyone in his office informed media outlets prior to the execution of search warrants.”
1:20pm
NO EXTRA SITTING WEEKS
Labor’s push to schedule more parliamentary sitting weeks before the election to deal with the banking royal commission’s recommendations will fail.
The Australian reports independent MP Andrew Wilkie won’t support the idea, because the extra weeks would not lead to “any meaningful progress”.
“Of course we must implement the recommendations as soon as possible,” Mr Wilkie said.
“But we’ve got to get it right, and that includes enough time for all the stages of introducing good public policy, and in particular effective community consultation, circulation of exposure drafts, committee scrutiny and so on.
“The last thing we want is a cluster of botched laws that help no one and even make matters worse.”
The House of Representatives is sitting next week, but after that, parliament won’t return until budget week in April.
1:00pm
‘HYSTERICAL, UNHINGED’: FURIOUS RESPONSE TO PM
Labor has accused Scott Morrison of running “a desperate and shrill scare campaign”, and slammed his decision to re-open the detention facilities on Christmas Island.
This morning the Prime Minister announced he was doing so to deal with the prospect of new asylum seeker arrivals and transfers, following parliament’s approval of the medical transfer bill.
Shadow Immigration and Border Protection Minister Shayne Neumann says the move will only encourage people smugglers.
“Scott Morrison’s ridiculous decision to open the Christmas Island detention centre is a hysterical and unhinged response from a desperate and dishonest Prime Minister,” Mr Neumann said.
“He is encouraging the people smugglers to restart the boats and should be ashamed of himself.”
He said there was “no difference” between the government and opposition on border protection policy.
“We support offshore processing, turnbacks when safe to do so, and regional resettlement — there will be no changes to this under a Shorten Labor government.
“This legislation only applies to people who are currently in regional processing — removing any incentive, no matter how small, for people to risk their life at sea.
“Labor’s message is clear — if you try and make it to Australia by boat, you will be turned around and you will never settle in Australia.”
Mr Neumann highlighted Labor’s promise to triple the number of Australian Federal Police officers combating people smugglers overseas, and said Operation Sovereign Borders would remain “fully resourced”.
“Scott Morrison is running a desperate and shrill scare campaign — spreading baseless lies about Labor’s strong position on border protection,” he said.
12:25pm
LEAK WAS MEANT TO HURT SHORTEN
Raids at offices of the Australian Workers’ Union were leaked to the media in part to damage Bill Shorten’s reputation, a court has been told.
David de Garis, a former media adviser to Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash, admitted on Wednesday the impact on Mr Shorten was part of his motivation for giving media a tip ahead of raids at AWU headquarters in Melbourne and Sydney in October 2017.
“It would have at least been part of my thinking I’m sure,” Mr de Garis said.
Camera crews showed up at the offices before Australian Federal Police in a move that raised questions about the motivation behind the raids.
The AWU is arguing in its case against the Registered Organisations Commission and AFP, that the raids were unlawful.
It has alleged they were politically motivated and instigated by Senator Cash in a bid to hurt the union and Mr Shorten.
Mr de Garis has previously told the trial he was given information about the impending raids by the senator’s then chief of staff, Ben Davies.
— AAP
12:00pm
BATTLE FOR WENTWORTH
Independent MP Kerryn Phelps played a leading role in pushing parliament to act on asylum seekers — her first major contribution since winning the Wentworth by-election.
Dave Sharma, the man she beat — and will face again at the next election — has responded to the medical transfer bill’s passage. It’s likely to be a big issue in the electorate.
“I am disappointed by passage of the bill relating to Nauru and Manus Island today,” Mr Sharma wrote on Facebook.
“I firmly believe that weakening our border protection laws, against the advice of our security and intelligence agencies, will ultimately lead to more human tragedy, suffering and needless loss of life.
“I believe the people on Manus and Nauru deserve compassion, and I support measures to expedite their resettlement, so they can rebuild their lives. But this is not the way to do so.
“The Liberal government re-established, at considerable effort, the deterrent against people smugglers which the previous Labor government recklessly dismantled.”
11:45am
PROTEST IN THE FOYER OF PARLIAMENT
A group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander protesters has taken over the foyer of Parliament House, temporarily closing it to visitors.
They’re concerned about environmental issues, including climate change, fracking and water.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are hit first and worst by climate change. We are hurting in the face of water shortages, extreme heat, environmental pollution and the destruction of country and culture,” Amelia Telford of the Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network said.
“We’re fed up with governments and big business destroying country, threatening precious water and putting the future of our children and younger generations on the line.”
“We are no longer silent! I say it again; we cannot be bought, we cannot be sold! How much was my land worth in 1788? How much is it worth now?†We KNOW who owns this land! We don’t need the government to tell us! 💪🽠#auspol #waterislife pic.twitter.com/IHg6AICVvd
— Seed (@SeedMob) February 13, 2019
We have spoken our piece and we are leaving in peace! Always was, ALWAYS will be! #auspol #waterislife #Apology2019 pic.twitter.com/VP0jOb4vaD
— Seed (@SeedMob) February 13, 2019
11:40am
‘BEYOND BELIEF’: LABOR HITS BACK
Richard Marles has called the government’s response to the asylum seeker bill “shrill”.
“Their response, what they’re signalling to people smugglers in Jakarta, is shameful and they know it,” he said.
“They are playing politics. That’s the real reason they have reacted in the way they have.
“We all know that the government seeks to make this the biggest issue they possibly can at the next election.
“They are playing with fire in terms of the messaging that they are sending the people smugglers.”
Mr Marles was wrong-footed a bit when asked whether Labor would walk back the policy if boats started to come again.
“The government are the ones in power,” he said.
On Twitter, Mark Dreyfus called Scott Morrison’s reaction “beyond belief”.
The way @ScottMorrisonMP has behaved over the past 24 hours or so is beyond belief. He is happy to endorse lies, he has encouraged people smugglers to re-start their evil trade, and bullied journalists when they try to pull him up on it. Not fit to be PM of this country. #auspol
— Mark Dreyfus (@markdreyfusQCMP) February 13, 2019
11:30am
‘CAN I FINISH?’: PM IN TESTY EXCHANGE
After his announcement in the Prime Minister’s courtyard, Scott Morrison took questions from reporters. One exchange got particularly testy.
“Your government MPs, people like Tony Abbott, are saying that as a consequence of the bill that passed the House yesterday, it’s now get on a boat, get to Nauru, get sick and get to Australia, when the law ...” The Guardian’s Katharine Murphy started to say.
“That is entirely possible. That is entirely possible,” Mr Morrison interjected.
“If I can finish?” Ms Murphy shot back.
“The law that passed the House yesterday clearly limits it to the current cohort. So what Mr Abbott is saying is not true.”
“No, I’m sorry Katharine, you fail to understand that people smugglers don’t deal with the nuance of the Canberra bubble,” Mr Morrison said.
“It might be all fine and nice to talk about these nuances here in this courtyard but when you’re in a village in Indonesia and someone is selling you a product, there are no protections or truth in advertising laws for people smugglers. They just sell a message, and what Tony Abbott has said it exactly what the people smugglers will be saying.”
The Prime Minister started to look to the next questioner, but Ms Murphy wasn’t finished.
“No, I’m going over here,” Mr Morrison said.
“It is a fact,” she said.
“It is a nuance which the people smugglers will ignore and what is true today, Katharine, what is true today, as a result of what happened in the parliament yesterday and what is happening in the Senate now, is our border protection laws are weaker than they were two days ago. That’s a fact. Thank you.”
Finally moving on, Mr Morrison ruled out going to an election on the issue, saying the vote would still happen in May, after the budget.
He said Labor had left the Nauru and Manus Island detention centres in “appalling condition” last time it was in government.
“The Labor Party hadn’t properly funded them, they hadn’t put the right medical staff in place. Let’s not forget that the Labor Party put children on Manus Island.
“So I’m not going to take lectures on humanitarianism from the Labor Party.”
He ended the press conference with a final warning to asylum seekers thinking about getting on a boat.
“I’m going to be engaged in very clear and direct messaging to anyone who thinks they should get on a boat. I’m here. And I will stop you,” Mr Morrison said.
“What remains is the resolve and strength and conviction of my government, myself as Prime Minister, Peter Dutton as Home Affairs Minister, and that remains a big hurdle for them to get over. I can tell you the bar they have to clear if Bill Shorten is prime minister is lower than a snake’s belly.”
11:15am
KATTER ON THE FENCE
Bob Katter has a critical decision to make — whether he will vote with Labor and the rest of the crossbench to force parliament to schedule more sitting weeks.
Speaking to Sky News a short time ago, Mr Katter revealed he had told the Prime Minister he would find it “very difficult” to let parliament rise without passing any legislation to deal with the banking royal commission’s recommendations.
But he did not commit to vote one way or the other.
The House of Representatives is sitting next week, but after that parliament is not scheduled to meet again until budget week in April.
11:10am
MEDICAL TRANSFER BILL PASSES
The asylum seeker bill has passed with support from Labor, the Greens, Tim Storer, the Centre Alliance and crucially, Derryn Hinch.
The final vote was 36-34. If that sounds a bit low it’s because there were three pairs.
“What really swayed me was the amendment that I’m surprised the Greens agreed to, that is the one that will apply only to people who are currently on Nauru or on Manus,” Mr Hinch said before the vote.
10:45am
HINCH WILL SUPPORT BILL
Derryn Hinch just announced he will support the asylum seeker bill in the Senate, seemingly ensuring it will pass.
Mr Hinch expressed doubts earlier this morning, but after attending a security briefing on the legislation, he said the fact that it would only apply to asylum seekers currently on Nauru and Manus Island swayed him to support it.
“I have been briefed by both sides of this parliament. I had a half-hour briefing with security forces this morning. I do have some doubts about some aspects of it,” Mr Hinch said.
“What really swayed me was the amendment that I’m surprised the Greens agreed to, that is the one that will apply only to people who are currently on Nauru or on Manus.”
He said the Home Affairs Department had assured him any asylum seekers brought to Australia for medical attention would remain in detention in some manner or form.
“So will not be coming here and wandering around the streets of Australia,” he said.
“It has been a very tortured 24 hours, it has been a lot of pressure, from a lot of people that is part of this job, but now I can proudly say, yes, I think it is the right decision, I think it is a humanitarian decision.”
10:30am
CHRISTMAS ISLAND TO RE-OPEN
Scott Morrison has announced he will re-open the detention centre on Christmas Island.
At a press conference, Mr Morrison said he met with the National Security Committee this morning to decide how to strengthen border security. He stressed he was acting on the recommendations of Australia’s security agencies.
“Everything they are asking for, they are getting, and that has involved a strengthening of the capacity of Operation Sovereign Borders across a whole range of fronts,” he said.
“I am not at liberty to go into the detail of what they are for obvious reasons. This parliament has already tipped its hand enough to the people smugglers.”
The Prime Minister said he had approved the reopening of the Christmas Island facilities to deal with the prospect of new arrivals and transfers.
He said he had asked the Department of Home Affairs for an implementation report in response to the medical transfer legislation.
“My job now is to ensure that the boats don’t come. My job now is to everything within my power and in the power of the government to ensure that what the parliament has done to weaken our borders does not result in boats coming to Australia,” he said.
“It is still the case that our government is running border protection in this country and that, of itself, is a great deterrent, because they know our resolve. The people smugglers know my resolve. They know Peter Dutton’s resolve. They know we will do everything in our power to stop them at every point.”
10:05am
‘COMPLETELY SHAMEFUL’: SENATE EXPLODES
The Senate is now talking about the asylum seeker legislation, and it is getting fiery.
The government’s Senate leader, Mathias Cormann, claimed the bill would lead to rapists, murderers and paedophiles getting a “free pass” into Austraila. Here’s the meat of his speech:
“Here are some of the people which we would be forced to bring to Australia on the say-so of doctors. People charged with bad conduct but not convicted with offences under foreign law, or convicted but sentenced to less than 12 months in prison,” Mr Cormann said.
“Plenty of countries hand down pretty lenient sentences for things like beating your wife or paedophilia, if they hand down a sentence at all.
“It is hard to convict people of things like rape in some countries because women’s testimony is worth much less than that of men. A person charged, but not sentenced for say murder or paedophilia on Nauru will not be caught by the exemption.
“Australian security agencies might be well aware of a person engaging in paedophilia on Nauru but the person need not have been charged or sentenced. The upshot is that as a result of Bill Shorten’s bill — and it will be on his head — as a result of Bill Shorten’s bill, rapists, murderers, and paedophiles will still get a free pass into this country.
“People whose general past conduct shows they’re not of good character. For example, people who consort with criminals, people whose bad conduct is not criminalised in the relevant home jurisdiction. People who have been convicted of a lot of low-level offences. People who have been fighting guards on Nauru or Manus. People who have touched up nurses.
“People who have threatened violence. People who have bragged about going into crime and drug-dealing when they get to Australia. These are the people that the Labor Party, together with the Greens, wants to bring into Australia.”
In response, Labor’s Senate leader Penny Wong accused the government of engaging in a “pattern of deceit” and playing “brinkmanship with national security”.
“There are lies being told about this bill by those opposite, and they are doing it because they are desperate,” she said.
“We will never let the people smugglers back in business.
“We are responsible. You don’t see us leaking classified information for political purposes. Completely shameful, that, by those opposite, by those who represent those opposite.
“You have the gall to come in here and talk about being responsible.
“You play politics with national security. We don’t.”
9:20am
LABOR TRIES MORE SHENANIGANS
Fresh off its victory in the House yesterday, Labor will try to hijack another piece of government legislation, this time in the Senate.
It’s going to introduce two amendments to strengthen penalties for misconduct in the corporate and financial sectors.
The first would increase jail time for the most serious corporate crimes from the 10 years proposed by the government to 15.
The other would double the government’s proposed cap on financial penalties for big businesses from $210 million to $525 million.
“The royal commission has shown that the big banks made hundreds of millions of dollars of profit from the fees for no service scandals, and the maximum penalty of $200 million that the government has proposed is simply too low,” said Shadow Minister for Financial Services Clare O’Neil.
“After what’s been exposed through the Royal Commission, Australians expect tough action on corporate crime, and Labor is delivering.”
The government will need to decide whether to join with Labor and support the amendments to its own legislation, or resist the move and risk another embarrassing defeat.
9:00am
‘GREEN LIGHT FOR PEOPLE SMUGGLERS’
Peter Dutton spoke to the media at Canberra Airport this morning and gave Bill Shorten a gobful, berating him for “ignoring” the advice of Australia’s security agencies.
“Mr Shorten has made a decision for political reasons that is going to see people come to our country who have serious allegations against them,” he said.
“There’s no sense calling in the experts and then ignoring that advice. And that’s exactly what I think Mr Shorten has done here.
“It’s very clear that an unscrambling and dismantling of Operation Sovereign Borders is going to see, I think, a return of boats. It’s going to see people going back into detention.
“What Bill Shorten supported in the parliament yesterday is a green light for people smugglers.
“It’s on Bill Shorten’s shoulders, the first boat that arrives, and the ones that arrive thereafter.”
Meanwhile, Mr Dutton praised Derryn Hinch for requesting a security briefing before voting on the legislation in the Senate.
“It seems to me that Derryn Hinch is showing the leadership Bill Shorten lacks.”
8:45am
SHOCK TWIST: HINCH PUTS LEGISLATION IN DOUBT
The medical transfer legislation that passed the House yesterday, embarrassing the government in the process, still faces one more hurdle.
It needs to be approved by the Senate.
Labor joined with the crossbenchers, minus Bob Katter, to hand Scott Morrison a historic defeat on the floor of the House by a single vote, 75-74. The numbers in the Senate are just as tight.
For the bill to pass, a coalition of 39 senators need to vote in its in favour. There are 26 Labor senators and nine Greens, meaning they need the support of four crossbenchers — Tim Storer, Rex Patrick, Stirling Griff and Derryn Hinch.
One of those votes is now in doubt.
Mr Hinch voted with the group in December, but this morning indicated he was uncertain whether he would support them this time.
Mr Hinch has asked for a security briefing to inform his decision — a request the government has gladly granted.
“I’ve made it clear I still believe in offshore processing,” Mr Hinch told reporters.
“I voted for the bill in December mainly to get the kids off Nauru.”
He said most of the children had since been removed from the island.
“You’ve still got the issue on the one side of the humanitarian idea of the doctors panel, which is a good one, but you’ve also got others coming off, where the government says people will be coming off who shouldn’t be coming off,” he said of the bill.
“You’ve got the Solicitor-General saying what we voted on in December might be unconstitutional.
“I don’t want this to end up in the High Court.”
The fate of the legislation hinges on Mr Hinch’s decision.
8:30am
HANSON’S EXPLOSIVE CLAIM
While everyone else was focused on the shenanigans in the House last night, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson revealed an explosive allegation of sexual harassment against one of her colleagues in the Senate.
Speaking under parliamentary privilege, Ms Hanson accused the unnamed senator of repeatedly mistreating his staff and using taxpayer funds for payouts.
“I rise tonight to share my disappointment at another case of serious sexual harassment by a current senator that is currently under investigation — a married senator,” Ms Hanson said.
“This same senator has also forced the Australian taxpayer to pay out other previous unfair dismissal cases during his term. Each of those people has been gagged from speaking publicly about their experience, and I respect the decision they have made to accept those terms and remain silent.
“But what is disappointing is that this parliament has allowed the horrible treatment of staff to continue without this senator being forced to go through some form of training to prevent the poor treatment of his employees. I’m not talking about one or two staff. I’m talking about more than six in this term of parliament.
“And I blame this parliament for allowing the gag orders to leave this vulnerable woman exposed to the treatment she’s gone through. This gutless wonder we call senator should tonight hang his head in shame.
“I expect the behaviour of all elected members to be honourable. What senators in this place need to understand is that our staff are no different to us. Just because you wear the red pin doesn’t give you permission to place your unwanted hands or lips on your staff.”
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