Senate rejects Australian Building and Construction Commission legislation for a second time, giving government trigger to request governor general dissolve both houses of parliament – all the developments from Canberra
9.43am BST
Down in the House, the government is moving a gag to try and wrap up the truckies tribunal repeal vote now. Labor is getting very cranky. Bit chaotic down there.
Manager of opposition business, Tony Burke.
North Korea would be proud of the leader of the House tonight!
9.39am BST
One little moment in history. The senate gives the Turnbull government a double dissolution election trigger.
9.36am BST
It’s possible the prime minister will address the House of Representatives shortly. Stay tuned, in any case I’ll be pushing on until we’ve wrapped up all the elements.
9.27am BST
And there she blows. The bill has failed to go into second reading.
The government has its double dissolution trigger.
9.27am BST
On the second reading vote, crossbenchers with the government: Bob Day, David Leyonhjelm, Dio Wang and Nick Xenophon. With Labor: Jacqui Lambie, Glenn Lazarus, John Madigan and Ricky Muir.
9.21am BST
The chamber is dividing now on the second reading of the bills.
9.18am BST
Here’s the employment minister Michaelia Cash, summing up the cognate debate. She thanks senators for their input, but she says the rule of law needs to be restored to building sites.
The parliament can choose if it stands for thuggery or fairness.
9.14am BST
Here’s Glenn Lazarus, confirming he will not support the ABCC bill in its current form. He’s also telling the chamber he is not a politician, despite the evidence to the contrary: him being in parliament. Facts. Minor matters.
9.11am BST
'There are two speakers left on the list, @SenatorLazarus and @SenatorCash ...' says @SenatorFifield #auspol #abcc
9.00am BST
Nick Xenophon is telling the chamber he thinks we need a building watchdog, but he’s not sure this model will drive productivity gains and ensure workplace safety. He’s also indicated he would have liked to deliver a vote before the 7 o’clock news, but he’s not sure he can deliver that this evening. Xenophon has told the chamber it is most unlikely that the bill will go into committee. If he’s right, this debate will be over reasonably promptly.
8.51am BST
Greens senator Scott Ludlam in his contribution says he’s hopeful the dystopian ABCC will be kicked to the kerb in the senate within the next couple of hours. I should note in analytical mode there’s a degree of fence mending in evidence right now between the Greens and the union movement. Unions were furious with the Greens about the deal the party did with the government on senate voting reform, believing that deal was more likely to deliver a reborn ABCC in a joint sitting after a double dissolution election. The Greens have some ground to make up here. Unions in recent years have been donating to the Greens as well as the ALP – a trend that worried Labor, to put it mildly.
8.28am BST
Liberal senator Eric Abetz has just compared the ABCC to the Keeping Australia Beautiful campaign. My love is like a red red rose. Corruption is like litter.
Please send help. I may have already snapped.
8.24am BST
The senate is now back on the ABCC debate. Crossbencher John Madigan has just spoken in opposition to the legislation and Bob Day is making his contribution at the moment. He supports it. He’s also arguing various amendments should be considered in the committee stage. Day is urging his colleagues to allow the legislation to go to a second reading. (Might have to get them back to the chamber first. There isn’t a quorum just at the moment. Ring the bells.)
8.10am BST
There’s a bit of corridor chat around tonight about the government, and what it might produce to head off or neutralise Labor’s political sortie on the banking royal commission. If you’ve been with us all day you’ll know Labor was on the hunt for intelligence in question time today. Phil Coorey and James Eyres from the AFR are speculating an announcement isn’t far away.
The federal government could unveil its own banking changes as early as Tuesday in a bid to shut down the politically popular call by Labor to hold a royal commission into the financial services sector. Federal cabinet met late Monday to approve a range of measures to boost the powers and resources of the Australian Securities and Investments Commissions. It is understood, however, that a previously mooted inquiry by ASIC into the banks, was not in the final package.
7.58am BST
While I’m in the picture desk, another lovely chamber shot that I haven’t had a chance to share yet. Bronwyn Bishop, the day after the weekend before.
7.47am BST
Meanwhile, the man who once threatened to kill two pampered pooches mulls the sweetest victory of all.
7.43am BST
Wong is not the only Labor figure crab-walking away from Conroy. The Labor leader, Bill Shorten, has issued a short statement saying Conroy’s attack on Cosgrove was intemperate and unnecessary.
The governor general has one of the most important roles in our democracy and that should be respected by everyone. Senator Conroy should confine his remarks to the government.
7.31am BST
Over on Sky News, Labor’s Senate leader, Penny Wong, has meanwhile tiptoed away from her colleague Stephen Conroy who decided to throw a rhetorical grenade at the governor general earlier this morning. Wong noted Conroy has a colourful turn of phrase. Then she followed up with his words not being words I would use.
7.26am BST
Back to the Senate now. There’s conflicting mail about whether we will get a vote on the ABCC tonight. Maybe we will, maybe we won’t.
The Liberal senator Cory Bernardi has taken the opportunity to speak in a debate this afternoon voicing opposition to increases in tobacco excise. We know he feels this way, which will make the post-budget period mildly interesting, given it looks like the government might hike the tobacco excise.
7.13am BST
I think it’s worth pausing briefly to make a couple of observations about today.
I did warn you good people first up to pop on your crash helmets. We are now hurtling full tilt towards an election. When we hurtle towards an election the degree of intra-day brutality increases by an order of magnitude. Both the major parties are muscling up for this session.
6.48am BST
Back to the dogs, just briefly. The deputy prime minister is savouring his victory over the Canines from the Caribbean.®
Barnaby Joyce has issued the following statement.
I welcome the conclusion of court proceedings against Ms Amber Heard today. I also appreciate Ms Heard’s willingness to take responsibility for her actions last year and her acknowledgment that she broke our national biosecurity laws. These legal proceedings reinforce the clear message I sent internationally last year that we will not tolerate disregard for our biosecurity laws, no matter who you are. These legal proceedings clearly illustrate the government’s serious approach to enforcing our national biosecurity laws, and the fact that there are no exceptions to these laws – they apply to everyone equally. As an island nation, Australia is free of many pests and diseases common throughout the world that have harmed human health, agricultural industries, animals, plants and the environment. We do not want diseases and pests such as rabies, foot and mouth, screwfly, the varroa mite or ehrlichiosis in our country, and we do not want people making their own arrangements for what they bring into our country.
6.42am BST
Back to donations. Some context to that question time foray by Mark Dreyfus. Labor is in the process of trying to set up Senate inquiry into the federal Liberal fundraising foundations at the centre of allegations the NSW Liberal party has breached electoral disclosure laws, and to force Malcolm Turnbull’s cabinet secretary, Arthur Sinodinos, to give evidence before it.
Labor has moved a notice of motion in the senate to set up an inquiry by the Senate finance and public administration references committee to report by 4 May – the day after the federal budget – about “commonwealth legislative provisions relating to oversight of associated entities of political parties, with particular reference to the adequacy of the funding and disclosure regime relating to annual returns; the powers of the Australian Electoral Commission with respect to supervision of the conduct of and reporting by associated entities of political parties; and …[that] senator Sinodinos appear before the committee to answer questions”.
6.33am BST
pic.twitter.com/SXE3rrSl5J
6.29am BST
I will come back to question time to make sense of all that very shortly but you really do need to see this urgently. I mentioned this morning that the Johnny Depp’s dogs case has been on today in Queensland.
The Hollywood couple Depp and Amber Heard have recorded this video about why it’s a very poor idea to breach Australian quarantine laws.
6.21am BST
The finance minister and special minister of state, Mathias Cormann, has turned up in the Sky News studios.
Sky’s political editor, David Speers, puts the Dreyfus line of questioning to him.
There should not be political interference from government.
I don’t know. I’ll look at what’s been said.
6.15am BST
Turnbull moves to shut down question time before Dreyfus gets back to the dispatch box. An interesting sequence, that.
6.11am BST
Another Dorothy Dixer on frigates. Then Dreyfus returns.
Q: I refer to the minister’s previous answer. Will the minister report to the house before question time tomorrow on whether the special minister of state will direct the Australian Electoral Commission to report on whether any organisation that received donations from the Free Enterprise Foundation complied with all commonwealth electoral laws?
I’ll consult with the special minister of state, and I’m sure he’ll report in accordance with the normal practice.
6.07am BST
Dreyfus is persisting. Will the minister ask the AEC to report if any organisation that received donations from the Free Enterprise Foundation complied with all commonwealth electoral laws?
Morrison says he’ll pass that request through to Cormann.
6.04am BST
The shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, on electoral funding and disclosure, flowing from recent events in NSW.
Q: My question is to the minister representing the special minister of state. The New South Wales electoral commission recently found that the NSW Liberal party was required to disclose the identities of donors to the Free Enterprise Foundation, regardless of whether they were prohibited donors or not. That disclosure was not made. As a matter of government policy, should an organisation that has been found to have breached NSW electoral laws by the NSW electoral commission be able to claim electoral funding from the Australian Electoral Commission for a federal election?
On behalf of the special minister for state, the member would be aware that the matters he referred to related to New South Wales electoral laws, not to federal electoral laws.
They have the gall to come into this place and throw this sort of muck around, Mr Speaker. Those opposite – the party of Craig Thomson, Mr Speaker – has the union got their money back yet from the brothel? I don’t think they have, Mr Speaker.
This, Mr Speaker, is a bankrupt party when it comes to these matters, Mr Speaker. They’re in no position to lecture anyone!
5.54am BST
A boats dixer for the immigration minister, Peter Dutton. Labor will put the people smugglers back in business.
5.53am BST
The manager of government business, Christopher Pyne, is considering the umbilical cord attaching the Labor party to the CFMEU. Unfortunately he’s run out of time.
Labor’s Tanya Plibersek has a question for Scott Morrison.
This is how you repair a budget, Mr Speaker: you get control of your spending. You get control of your spending. And you reduce your expenditure as a share of the economy.
And Mr Speaker, what you also do is you focus on growth and you focus on jobs. The thing that it supports – investment – to support growth and jobs.
5.46am BST
Sick MPs and sick burns. Labor MP Andrew Giles.
Morrison extra unconvincing when saying crass populism is a bad thing - he should reflect on his time as Minister for Immigration #qt
5.44am BST
I suspect the prime minister has the flu. He’s sneezing down in the chamber. Too much time in planes and in different climates will do that to you. Too much time in Canberra will do that to you as well – so many people are sick at the moment.
Labor has meanwhile produced another less than attractive sounding bank case study from Tasmania. The treasurer, Scott Morrison, says bring me the details and my office will be happy to help.
5.41am BST
Hot today, in the invective factory.
5.38am BST
A Dorothy Dixer on the wickedness of Labor increasing various taxes when the economy is in transition.
Then Labor returns to the banking royal commission.
It’s our job.
5.34am BST
Labor’s Jim Chalmers reminds Malcolm Turnbull about HIH.
Q: I refer to the prime minister’s previous answer, when he said a royal commission into Australia’s banking sector would not pay compensation. Given the prime minister’s close personal knowledge, can the prime minister confirm that victims of HIH, which was subject to a royal commission, received compensation?
A royal commission is an inquiry. The only thing a royal commission can do is ask questions, subpoena documents, examine witnesses, and write a report. That’s all it can do. It cannot initiate compensation for anyone.
5.26am BST
The Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie asks about health funding for Tasmania. Malcolm Turnbull offers this: “We’re absolutely committed to ensuring that Tasmanians have the support from the federal government to ensure that they have health services on a par with Australians elsewhere in the country.”
The deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, is meanwhile thundering about getting true working people back out on the road.
5.23am BST
Bill Shorten to the prime minister.
Q: The government is reported to be considering directing ASIC to conduct an inquiry into the banking and financial services industry. Can the prime minister confirm that ASIC cannot inquire into its own role or Apra’s role, cannot hold an inquiry in public, and can only investigate individual cases where a royal commission examines systemic issues? When will the prime minister stop appeasing and apologising for the banks and launch a royal commission into the Australian banking sector?
What this government did is it initiated a capability review into ASIC, because what those opposite don’t seem to understand is that it’s ASIC that has the powers and that has the authority to prosecute and investigate, including holding public hearings, including dealing with things in public and having general matters that they can investigate, as well as specific matters, and we initiated the capability review into ASIC, to ensure that it has the proper resources and powers to do its job.
Those opposite, in their economic statement before the last election when they were in government, placed an efficiency dividend on ASIC, cutting some $30m from ASIC, and it was done by the now-shadow treasurer when he was treasurer, Mr Speaker. He would remember that!
5.17am BST
The second Dorothy Dixer invites the prime minister to present himself as being the champion of small business, particularly truckies. That would be the owner-driver truckies, not the TWU members. Turnbull says truckies – the owner-driver truckies – know Labor is out to get them.
Malcolm Turnbull
We’re committed to ensuring that those mum-and-dad businesses – those small businesses, those enterprising Australians – can get on and do their work. Labor is determined to keep them out of business.
5.14am BST
The first Dorothy Dixer is on the government’s various fabulousness in contrast with Labor’s general meh-ness.
Labor is back on the banks.
Mr Speaker, the only tears from the opposition are, indeed, crocodile tears, Mr Speaker. The men and women of Australia, the small-business men and women who need to be supported by government, were abandoned by Labor, and we are determined to set them right again.
5.08am BST
It being 2pm, here beginneth the hour of the glower. Labor feels it might open today on banks and royal commissions.
Bill Shorten says, given the prime minister has referred recently to many troubling incidents in the financial services sector, why not a royal commission?
We are focused on action. We are focused on ensuring that the banks are regulated and that those who break the law are brought to account, and those who get a raw deal are dealt with fairly and compensated appropriately.
4.56am BST
The latest Politics Live employees @murpharoo ? pic.twitter.com/pSOAb6BoSE
4.51am BST
Meanwhile, in the Senate, amendments are being circulated on the ABCC bill.
ABCC legislation was drafted by a room full of monkeys and a typewriter. Stay tuned for my speech on the #ABCC in the Senate #JLN #auspol
4.49am BST
So summarising that defence announcement again just before we get swallowed whole by question time: it was about revealing the locations to build 12 offshore patrol vessels and up to 21 Pacific patrol boats. The locations are the Adelaide shipyards and the Henderson shipyard in WA. Cairns may also get a look-in down the track. The sound of decks being cleared. Yes that was a terrible pun. Let’s move on.
4.42am BST
4.34am BST
Really, in case you missed it.
Fantastic news re starting the OPVs build in Adelaide until the Future Frigates build is ready to start! It secures jobs at Osborne #auspol
4.32am BST
In case you missed it. Hooray for Adelaide.
Great news for SA - $3bn OPVs to start in Adelaide in 2018 (400 jobs). Job security for Osborne workers until Future Frigates build begins
4.26am BST
Some questions about whether the government is really serious about considering crossbench amendments on the ABCC, which get batted in the direction of the portfolio minister, Michaelia Cash.
When should this issue be decided (meaning the vote on the ABCC)? The prime minister would like to encourage the Senate to get on with the job and deal with it.
I certainly support that. What we do, what we seek to do is to encourage more women to be involved in the party, and there are many women involved in the party and I’m standing next to one of the great role models and leaders in our party, the first woman to be defence minister of Australia, but you have are to remember the Liberal party has a different character to Labor. It is a very much a grassroots movement.
I agree the more the better and that is a job ahead of us.
4.18am BST
After a couple of questions about why the build isn’t happening entirely in Adelaide, whether today’s announcement is an intention or a guarantee, whether it might be more cumbersome to build partly in Adelaide and partly in WA, and why Cairns missed out, reporters want to know about Stephen Conroy sledging the governor general. Was this appropriate?
Malcolm Turnbull
Well, not for the first time, senator Conroy has disgraced himself and I look forward to the leader of the opposition publicly disassociating himself from those appalling remarks reflecting, as senator Conroy did, on the integrity and the office of the governor general.
4.15am BST
Reporters want to know about submarines. The prime minister wants to talk about surface ships.
Malcolm Turnbull
We’re talking about surface vessels today.
4.11am BST
From the joint media release, here are the details of the projects.
Offshore patrol vessels
4.08am BST
Malcolm Turnbull
These are very important announcements concerning the future of our nation, the future of our security and the future of our modern navy.
4.05am BST
The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, is in his courtyard now with the defence minister, Marise Payne. This announcement is about defence shipbuilding for Adelaide.
3.48am BST
Let’s take stock because I suspect we can’t do that too much today.
3.28am BST
Never been a more exciting time ...
3.26am BST
A bit more photographic gold from the joint sitting. Behind you.
3.21am BST
Mike Bowers. Worth more than one thousand words.
3.07am BST
While Murph’s been on debates and procedures, I’ve been hot on the tail of an absent handshake. The governor general, Sir Peter Cosgrove, has provoked a small hurricane on social media for this morning’s perceived snub towards Labor’s deputy leader, Tanya Plibersek, whose hand he did not shake after the parliamentary joint sitting.
Cosgrove apparently did not see Plibersek stick out her hand, and as procedure dictated that he only needed to shake the hand of the Senate president, prime minister and leader of the opposition, he did not stop to address her. He did, however, shake the hand of the deputy PM, Barnaby Joyce, which could have led Plibersek to believe he would also greet her.
The governor general did call. Ms Plibersek doesn’t discuss details of private conversations. Ms Plibersek’s position is that no apology is necessary, and that the whole thing’s a storm in a teacup.
2.59am BST
Back to the Senate debate and two competing views on the ABCC legislation.
Michaelia Cash first, on the argument that strengthening the building inspectorate will make workplaces more unsafe by preventing unions from undertaking occupational health and safety activities.
I want to make one point on safety very clear. The bill does not contain any provision that would prevent legitimate safety issues in the building industry from being raised and addressed by employees, unions, or state and territory work and health safety regulators. It has not been, currently is not, and will not be industrial action for a worker to stop work because of a reasonable concern over an imminent safety risk. The standard used in the ABCC bill is the standard that currently applies under Labor’s Fair Work Act. Suggestions that the ABCC was responsible for workplace deaths or that members of the government would be happy to see workers die, are not only completely false, they are without any foundation and quite frankly are offensive to those who have lost loved ones.
I rise to speak against these bills. These are bills that rest on a foundation of lies, half-truths, and deception. And we have just seen that been paraded here by the minister. These are bills that rob construction workers of basic civil rights. These are bills through which the government thumbs its nose at the basic right of the presumption of innocence. These are bills that pose life-threatening dangers to construction workers. These are bills that give a civil regulator the power to compel construction workers to attend compulsory interrogations for something as innocuous as attending a union meeting. These are bills that provide for searches of construction workers’ homes without a warrant. These are bills that deny construction workers the right to legal representation by the lawyer of their choice. These are bills that reverse the onus of proof for construction workers refusing to undertake unsafe work. And these are bills that will leave a million construction workers with fewer rights than an ice dealer, regardless of what the minister says.
2.41am BST
Lest it got lost in the wash before, just a reminder: the attorney general, George Brandis, said earlier that if the House cracked on with the road safety tribunal bill and handed it up to the Senate, the Senate would hit pause on the ABCC debate and consider the road safety repeal bill immediately before moving back to the building and construction commission bill.
Hope that made sense. A lot of bills in that mix. But you lot are quick as foxes.
2.37am BST
Procedure junkies. Down in the green chamber, the government has reordered the business to allow the following program.
2.31am BST
I’ll catch up with events in the House shortly.
The employment minister, Michaelia Cash, is making her case on the ABCC bill in the Senate. She’s in joining-the-dots mode.
You may well ask how has this unlawful business model been allowed to develop? Well, unfortunately one crucial factor is that the CFMEU last year alone donated $720,000 to the Labor party, and since 2007 it has filled the coffers of the Labor party to the tune of $7.1m.
It is no coincidence then that at the behest of the CFMEU, the Labor party and those opposite remain wilfully indifferent to the victims of CFMEU thuggery, intimidation and violence in the building industry. But, Mr deputy president, they are also indifferent to the benefits a lawful industry will provide to the Australian people and the Australian economy.
2.21am BST
In the event you are just tuning in or are struggling to keep a linear sequence of events today (OK, that might just be me), let’s recap briefly.
2.03am BST
Conroy has been replaced in the debate by the Greens leader, Richard Di Natale. He contends what we are seeing this week are events contrived to suit the prime minister’s personal interest, not the national interest.
Richard Di Natale:
The only way he can get a mandate from his own party to bring them together, to bring those extreme elements into the tent, is to engage in a bit of good old-fashioned union bashing, because nothing brings the Coalition together like a bit of old-fashioned union bashing.
You see, [Turnbull] has lacked the courage to take on those people within his party room, and rather than doing what good prime ministers do and that is to unite the nation, he is taking action to unite his party room, but to divide the nation to his great, great shame.
1.57am BST
While Conroy is digging in, a little photo sequence from Magic Mike capturing the non-handshake from earlier today. Who knows why that happened.
GG handshake for deputy Barnaby Joyce but not for Tanya Plibersek @murpharoo @GuardianAus #poloticslive pic.twitter.com/SVIRTmWOpA
We believe the ABCC’s powers are extreme, undemocratic and compromise civil liberties. Workers in the building and construction industry ... deserve better than this.
Mr Turnbull says: ‘You’ve got to live within your means.’
I would love to live within Mr Turnbull’s means.
1.48am BST
Conroy is rolling on.
Since 1961, Mr president, the parliament has only been prorogued four times, under extraordinary circumstances and never, never, to set the scene for an election. Never to have a manipulation of politics. Never to have a manipulation of politics in this way.
Never in modern history has a government prorogued a parliament to obtain a political advantage, and that is what this government has done. They have prorogued the parliament to obtain a political advantage, and there is no other way.
The Labor party is ready to seek a mandate, to seek the support of the Australian public, for our agenda.
To reject the negative agenda.
1.44am BST
Stephen Conroy, continuing:
If the Queen had been asked to interfere in the British parliament in this way, there is no way on this earth this would have happened!
1.40am BST
Labor is now returning to the theme of Peter Cosgrove.
Labor’s deputy Senate leader, Stephen Conroy, is on his feet now. Conroy says today we are seeing the ghost of 1975, the long dead arm of Sir John Kerr. He declares today is a travesty of democracy, an absolute affront.
There is no pretence this is a normal process, a normal process that has gone on. You just had to look around the chamber today. Where were the high court justices? Where were the heads of our military? Where were the hats of our diplomatic community? All told “Don’t come today,” because it is a political stunt; it is not a real opening of the parliament. And, in fact, not just: ‘Don’t come. Please don’t come.’
We don’t want to pretend to the Australian public that this is a real proroguing of the parliament for the purposes with which it had been used traditionally.
1.33am BST
On the road safety remuneration tribunal (RSRT)Brandis says the following.
George Brandis:
The government will be moving in this session of parliament to abolish the road safety remuneration tribunal and we urge senators to support our attempts to do so.
If the bill to abolish the RSRT comes to the Senate from the House of Representatives while the Senate is debating the ABCC bills, the government is prepared, subject to the will of the chamber, to adjourn the ABCC debate to allow the RSRT abolition bill to be dealt with straightaway on the understanding that the chamber would then resume and finish dealing with the ABCC bills.
1.30am BST
Brandis is persisting, meanwhile, in the Senate, on why we are here for this special session.
The eternal why.
Mr president, the building and construction industry employs over a million Australians and represents around 8% of GDP. It is, therefore, one of the largest sectors of the economy and one of the largest sources of employment in this country. Ensuring an efficient and law-abiding building and construction sector is crucial for promoting jobs and growth and is an important part of managing the transition of the economy from the mining boom to a more diversified economy, the central challenge of our economic policy today.
These bills are about improving productivity. They will create jobs. They are about creating opportunities, protecting the tens of thousands of small businesses who employ so many people and reducing the number of days work needlessly lost. Upholding the rule of law will enable building projects to be delivered on time and on budget with cost savings for consumers and for taxpayers.
1.25am BST
Just for the record, here’s the Labor motion on the royal commission in full.
That the House:
1.20am BST
By the by, the Shorten motion calls on MPs to sit on Wednesday and debate a bill on a royal commission into banks.
Meanwhile, in the red room, the attorney general, George Brandis, is telling the chamber this is the 29th time in history that a new session of parliament has been called after the parliament was prorogued.
As his excellency has just told us, the reason for recalling the parliament is to enable it, and in particular the Senate, to give full and timely consideration to two important parcels of industrial legislation.
1.17am BST
The Labor leader, Bill Shorten, is on his feet in the House now. The manager of government business, Christopher Pyne, is suggesting the opposition leader might want to keep his contribution brief.
The Speaker, Tony Smith, also thinks brevity might be the soul of wit.
Anything less than a royal commission into misconduct in the banking and financial services industries amounts to a cover-up orchestrated by the prime minister and the Liberal government.
1.08am BST
Procedural skirmishing is still under way in the House. Senate will be back shortly.
1.03am BST
Here’s that non handshake to Tanya Plibersek.
Watch Tanya Plibersek get totally by GG Peter Cosgrove. "Know your place" her Labor colleagues heckle. #... https://t.co/8fRLf0cy4b
1.01am BST
Here’s Peter Cosgrove entering the Senate chamber before his address.
12.57am BST
Some great pictures coming through now. I’ll share them over the next little bit.
Mr Speaker, I move an amendment to the motion that’s just been moved. That the committee also include the member for Warringah and member for Menzies. We have been recalled here to debate Abbott government legislation!
12.50am BST
My eyes down in the chamber, Mr Bowers, tells me the governor general shook the hand of the Nationals leader, Barnaby Joyce, but not Labor’s deputy leader, Tanya Plibersek.
The Senate is on a short break now.
12.46am BST
Yes, definitely Labor heckling. Muscling up for a big few weeks.
12.45am BST
I’ve been wondering what the governor general will say in this opening address, given it is basically a closing address. Normally these speeches are broad-ranging things. Not today folks. This one is short and businesslike.
And, unusually, people are just talking among themselves during the address. It could be sotto voce heckling – I can’t quite hear.
I have, on the advice of my ministers, recalled you so that these bills can be considered again, and have their fate decided without further delay.
My government regards these measures as essential for the rule of law in our workplaces. My government also regards these measures as crucial to its economic plan for promoting jobs and growth, and managing the transition of our economy from one reliant on the mining construction boom to a more diversified economy. That economic plan for jobs, growth, saving and investment will also be reflected in the budget which the treasurer will introduce on May 3, building on initiatives to promote innovation, investment, infrastructure, and access to markets in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
12.35am BST
The governor general is sitting in position in the Senate. The usher of the black rod has been sent to gather MPs from the House of Representatives. They’ll be on the move shortly. Ah yes, here they are, on the move.
12.30am BST
Stand by for the ceremonies. MPs are gathering downstairs.
12.30am BST
Back briefly on the road safety tribunal, my colleague Paul Karp recently looked at the evidence about whether there was a link between what truck drivers are paid and road safety.
The purpose of setting up the tribunal was to impose minimum pay rates for owner-drivers that were intended to reduce road deaths by removing financial incentives to skip breaks or speed. That was the purpose. But the government argues there’s no link between the two issues, and the tribunal will put hardworking truck drivers out of business.
12.16am BST
The governor general, Peter Cosgrove, has just pulled up at the parliament for today’s ceremonial session.
12.09am BST
Meanwhile, in a parallel universe.
Johnny Depp arrives at a Gold Coast court pic.twitter.com/oaYq58MX0v
12.01am BST
In addition to the industrial bills, the government wants to abolish the road safety remuneration tribunal. I don’t think I’ve had a chance to mention that yet this morning. That’s of course what the truckies’ protest is about.
11.46pm BST
For folks who like an orderly diary, the running order for today. Pomp and ceremony. (Yes, wacky. Said it once; will doubtless say it again.)
11.38pm BST
Back, just while there’s a spare second, to the separate Newspoll questions I flagged first up on budgetary matters. If this survey is a reliable guide, voters want the budget fixed more than they want tax cuts.
According to Phillip Hudson’s report in the Australian this morning, a majority of the Newspoll sample (65%) wants the government to reduce spending.
Almost 40% want the savings from reducing spending to pay down debt while one-quarter say it should go to delivering tax cuts. Some 23% say there should be an increase in spending on government programs, with this option strongest among Labor and Greens voters.
Overall, 45% of voters believe the Turnbull-led Coalition is more likely to spend responsibly and manage government debt than the Shorten-led ALP, which is favoured by 31%. One-in-six Labor voters and one-in-four Greens supporters believe the Turnbull government would be better than a Shorten government.
11.29pm BST
The employment minister, Michaelia Cash, has had primary responsibility for negotiations around the industrial bills. She’s been on the ABC this morning.
Q: Ricky Muir was on the show about 20 minutes ago and he said you guys aren’t too serious about listening to any chance of compromise on this bill. He says it’s nothing more than a charade this week. What do you say?
I absolutely disagree with him. I have done everything that I could to negotiate in good faith. I’ve spoken with Ricky, my office has spoken with Ricky’s office, but merely because you don’t get the answer that you want when you bring the government amendments, does not mean we’re not negotiating in good faith.
We’ve made it very clear we will not accept amendments that compromise the integrity of the bill. Some of the amendments put forward were going to do that so we determined not to accept them – but again, I have negotiated in good faith at all times.
Absolutely. Look, you know, it’s an ongoing dialogue.
11.17pm BST
Xenophon, continuing on AM, is asked whether he thinks the Coalition will win the coming election.
The body language of the opposition tells you they think they are in with a chance.
11.14pm BST
In brisk procession on the wireless this morning we’ve had the attorney general, George Brandis, the finance minister, Mathias Cormann, and Labor’s Senate leader, Penny Wong.
Brandis was pushed on the ABC’s AM program about whether the government has, in the real world, made any serious efforts to get crossbench support for the ABCC bill.
We do want this legislation ... We are very serious.
How serious the government is about passing this bill or whether this is more just an operation for them to be able to get to a double dissolution is really the million-dollar question at the moment.
It feels like we’re on the final countdown.
I have no doubt this bill will ultimately fail and we’ll go to an election on July 2.
11.01pm BST
Good morning and welcome to the resumption of the edifying spectacle that is pass my damn bills or the puppy gets it.
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