Politics Live: February 10, 2016

The end of the day. What happened?

• Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is preparing for a major reshuffle of his cabinet with the news that Trade Minister Andrew Robb is resigning;
• Mr Robb's resignation creates another senior vacancy on the front bench along with the one to be created by Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss;
• Human Services Minister Stuart Robb clung on for another day as the opposition again zeroed in on his 2014 trip to China in question time;
• Treasurer Scott Morrison confirmed the government is examining changes to negative gearing;
• Mr Turnbull delivered the tenth annual Closing the Gap address to Parliament in which he called for a new approach to indigenous policy; and
• Mr Turnbull also became the first prime minister to address the Parliament in Ngunawal, the language of the traditional owners of the ACT.

My thanks to Alex Ellinghausen and Andrew Meares for their excellent work and to you for reading and commenting.

You can follow me on Facebook.

Alex, Andrew and I will be back in the morning. We hope to see you here. Until then, good night.

You can follow the developing story on the resignation of Mr Robb and Mr Truss here.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce and Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss during question time on Wednesday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

And just because it's not busy enough my stablemate, Phillip Coorey of The Australian Financial Review, is reporting Trade Minister Andrew Robb is going to leave politics as well as Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss.

This means, obviously, that Mr Turnbull has a major reshuffle of his cabinet on his hands.

Labor's finance spokesman, Tony Burke, says ministers are "dropping like flies around Malcolm Turnbull".

The Age's political editor, Michael Gordon, looks at the gaps on the benches while Mr Turnbull was speaking.

"There is a convention that when the PM addresses the chamber, his troops are there in force to demonstrate solidarity. It went by the board on Wednesday morning," Michael writes.

"There is also a convention that when a subject of national importance that goes to questions of national identity or national security is broached by the nation's leaders, all MPs take their seats. That, too, was waived on the Coalition side. Was it lack of interest in the issue? Or lack of respect for the leader? Either way, it was conduct unbecoming."

Way back this morning (10.10am post) I referred to Mr Turnbull's greeting in a local indigenous language.

I double checked with Mr Turnbull's as to which language that was and it was Ngunawal (which, obviously, makes sense because the Ngunnawal are the traditional owners of much of the ACT).

Assistant minister Ken Wyatt says Mr Turnbull's use of Ngunawal puts his speech on par with Paul Keating's Redfern speech and Kevin Rudd's apology to the stolen generation.

I was very focussed on Mr Robert during question time so I didn't spend enough time on Mr Morrison's answer on negative gearing (see 2.21 pm post).

My apologies.

What Mr Morrison's answer revealed was that the government is going to take action on negative gearing - presumably in the budget - but that it will be confined to people on high incomes. I assume any action will also not be retrospective.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison during question time on Wednesday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The government wins the vote.

Question time is over.

Human Services Minister Stuart Robert during question time on Wednesday.Credit: Andrew Meares

That vote is successful.

"Let's deal with this quickly," Speaker Tony Smith says of the next stage which is to vote on whether or not the house should censure Mr Turnbull and Mr Robert.

Innovation Minister Christopher Pyne and Treasurer Scott Morrison during question time on Wednesday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

It is successful.

The manager of opposition business, Tony Burke, rises to second Mr Shorten's motion.

The government moves to gag him as well.

Another vote is called for.

The government moves to gag the debate.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during question time on Wednesday.Credit: Andrew Meares