Tearful Jacqui Lambie votes for medivac repeal, handing Scott Morrison a major political victory

Scott Morrison scores a big win by repealing the medivac laws as a row ignites over whether he struck a ‘secret deal’ with Jacqui Lambie.

Senator Jacqui Lambie in the Senate Chamber at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Kym Smith

Scott Morrison has scored a major political victory by repealing the controversial medivac legislation, delivering on a key election pledge, as a row ignites over whether he struck a “secret deal” with crossbencher Jacqui Lambie.

The laws, which made it easier for refugees in offshore detention to be brought to Australia to receive medical treatment, was scrapped during a tense debate in the Senate on Wednesday. The final vote was 37 to 35.

Senator Lambie, who delivered the government victory, broke down in tears as she told the chamber she would support the medivac repeal bill.

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“I’m quite sure many people have known in here this has been a really hard decision for me to make,” Senator Lambie said. “Sorry, everybody, for taking this long to make it, but we’re getting there.”

Senator Mathias Cormann returns to his seat after talking with Senator Jacqui Lambie in the Senate Chamber at Parliament House. Picture: Kym Smith

The crucial crossbencher had previously been tight-lipped on whether she would vote with the government.

Senator Lambie told the Senate, the medivac laws were a national security threat and there were “real problems” with the way they were operating.

“There are problems that sit at the centre of its operation. They cannot be amended away,” Senator Lambie said. “The Labor Party and the Greens might think everything is A-OK, but I’m not comfortable with it and I’ll tell you — they know as well as anybody else that this isn’t right.”

A tearful Senator Lambie said she was voting to dismantle the legislation because it was a “matter of conscience.”

“This is a matter of conscience. I can’t let the boats start back up and I can’t let refugees die, whether it’s sinking into the ocean or waiting for a doctor and I am voting to make sure that neither of these things happen.”

While the government’s chief negotiator Finance Minister and Senate leader, Mathias Cormann, denied a secret deal was struck, Senator Lambie said she couldn’t reveal the proposal worked on with the coalition for national security reasons.

“I’m not being coy or silly when I say I genuinely can’t say what I proposed. I know that’s frustrating to people. And I get that,” Senator Lambie said. “I don’t like holding things back like this but when I say I can’t discuss it publicly due to national security concerns, I am being 100 per cent honest to you.”

Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong during debate on the medivac bill in the Senate chamber.

During the debate, Labor Senator Penny Wong blasted the government over its track-record on transparency, saying the vote should be delayed until Australians knew the terms of the private negotiations.

A furious Greens leader Richard Di Natale blasted Senator Corman for “misleading” the parliament after he denied a deal had been struck.

“We’ve just heard conflicting accounts. We had Minister Cormann say that there was no deal. Now we’ve just heard Senator Lambie say there is a deal. Who’s lying?,” Senator Di Natale said.

“Someone is misleading the Senate. Someone is misleading the Senate about one of the most important pieces of legislation that has been before this Parliament.”

Greens leader Richard Di Natale speaks during the medivac debate in the Senate chamber at Parliament House.

He was joined in his attack by Senator Wong who told the chamber cabinet ministers were voting on legislation “like lemmings” having not been privy to the details of the deal.

“What sort of cabinet government is that? What sort of process of democracy is that?” Senator Wong said. “You should require of this government some disclosure. You should require something more than secret deals done in the shadows.”

The surprise vote occurred after the Coalition moved a motion to put the medivac repeal to vote in a move to push the legislation through the upper house.