Pauline Hanson is suspended from the Senate for seven days
After she speaks, Penny Wong gets back up to move a motion to suspend Hanson from the Senate entirely for seven days.
There are just a few voices who object to the suspension, and a division is called, but then quickly cancelled as Hanson stands up and says, “you can cancel that division, the people will judge me at the next election.”
Senate president Sue Lines cancels the division, and after that very intense hour, the chamber moves onto its normal, regularly scheduled programming.
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The knives are out for Chris Bowen
The energy minister is back in the House today, and the Coalition has whipped out the “part-time minister, full time president” line for a second day in a row.
Sussan Ley starts saying “welcome back to Australia!” prompting jeers from the Coalition benches.
How many days of Parliament will be part-time Minister miss in 2026 and what will be the cost to Australian taxpayers of the minister’s full-time presidential duties?
Bowen – who loves some QT banter – gets up and starts listing off a bunch of former Coalition ministers who chaired international summits.
When you are a patriotic party of government you celebrate National successes whether you are in opposition or in government. That is the approach the Labor party in opposition talk when John Howard chaired APEC, with our support. It is the approach the Labor party took when Tony Abbott chaired the G20, with our support. The approach the Labor party took to support the appointment of Mathias Corman as Secretary General of the OECD.
Milton Dick has a lot less patience today and warns MPs to behave (he name checks Angus Taylor who keeps making interjections).
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Opposition Sussan Ley also extends her condolences, and says Richardson represents “so much of the Labour party tradition”.
A tough political operator committed to advancing the cause of Labor. His approach to politics is exemplified by his autobiographical book whatever it takes. He never pull punches and fought for the labour cause. He was a larger-than-life character who was a constant presence in Australian politics for almost 50 years.
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It’s question time!
After an intense couple of hours in the Senate, we move over to the House for QT.
Before questions begin, Anthony Albanese marks the death of former Labor MP Graham Richardson.
Once branded the “minister for kneecaps”, Richardson passed away earlier this month. Albanese says “Richo’s” greatest impact was during his role as environment minister.
He was characteristically self-effacing, as he put it, ‘my memory will not be around for very long but the rainforest of North Queensland will around forever’.
There is no escaping the fact that his life was often colourful and sometimes controversial. Yet while he was not perfect, he was always very direct. That much was evident in the famously self-aware title of his memoir: ‘Whatever it takes.’
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Updated at 22.10 EST
Tom McIlroy
Hanson’s Senate suspension first since 1979
Pauline Hanson’s suspension from the Senate will see her miss the start of next year’s parliamentary sittings.
After her stunt wearing a burqa into the chamber on Monday, the One Nation leader was censured and suspended for seven sitting days on Tuesday.
If the Senate sits until Thursday this week, as is expected, Hanson will still be suspended for the first four sitting days of 2026.
It is only the fifth time since 1901 that a seven-day suspension has been put in place and the first time since 1979.
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Updated at 21.53 EST
Benita Kolovos
Victoria’s new opposition leader guarantees ‘no reduction to frontline services under a Liberal government’
After emerging from the spill victorious last week, Labor immediately accused Wilson of presiding over a plan to cut government services. But Wilson told the CEDA event she would guarantee there would be “no reductions to frontline services under a Liberal government”. She said:
We don’t want to fix the budget for its own sake. We want to fix it because we want to guarantee the essential services Victorians rely on and indeed we want to build on them. We will guarantee essential services because unlike Labor, we can manage the budget.
Wilson also made light of the spill, admitting to the audience that “a week is a long time in politics”.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, will deliver her “state of the state” address at a seperate CEDA event on Thursday.
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Updated at 21.48 EST
Benita Kolovos
The new Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson, has used a speech at Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) event to propose setting up a bipartisan commission to reduce the state’s debt.
Wilson, who became Liberal leader following a spill against Brad Battin this time last week, told the event she had written to the premier, Jacinta Allan, on Tuesday morning with the proposal.
She said the commission – made up of former Victorian treasurers, senior figures from the treasury department and previous auditors-general – would be tasked with coming up with policies to address the state’s growing debt. This would include recommendations designed to reduce the debt-to-GSP ratio over the short, medium and long term.
The proposed commission would also be able to call for submissions and hold public hearings.
Wilson told the CEDA event Victorians debt was forecast to grow to $194bn in 2028-29, with the government expected to be paying “$1.2m in interest every hour”. She said:
We are now at the point where net debt and the associated interest payments are becoming an existential threat to the Victorian economy. We cannot assume we will simply bounce back out of this. This issue is so serious that I strongly believe we must place this beyond narrow party politics.
This challenge does not get solved by the normal back and forth of parliamentary debates and mud slinging. We have to take the politics out of solving this crisis.
While it is unlikely the government will agree to the proposal, it shows a shift in policy direction under Wilson when compared with Battin, who was criticised by his colleagues amid the spill for focusing too heavily on crime.
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Updated at 21.51 EST
Censure doesn’t ‘worry me’ says Hanson
Speaking to the press after being suspended from the Senate for seven days, Pauline Hanson has again defended her stunt in parliament on Monday afternoon.
She says she was “upset” she wasn’t given more time to respond to the criticism levelled at her during the 30 minutes of debate today before the censure motion and suspension motion were voted on.
She says:
Does it [the censure] really worry me? No, it doesn’t. For seven days, not at all. I stand my ground and what I believe in, I will continue to do so.
It will be the people that will judge me. I will be standing for the next election in Queensland, and I will let the people of Queensland judge me whether I have earned my place to be reelected again or not. I will not let these people here judge me.
Hanson says Australia should look at other countries who have banned the burqa, and insists there’s public support for her stance.
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Updated at 21.41 EST
In pictures: Pauline Hanson suspended from parliament for seven days
One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson leaves the Senate chamber. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPOne Nation Leader Pauline Hanson and her senators in the Senate chamber. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPMinister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong in the Senate chamber at Parliament House. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShareTom McIlroy
Labor House members asked to prepare in case environmental laws pass Senate on Thursday night
Labor’s lower house members have been told to stay in Canberra until Friday morning in case changes to the country’s environment laws pass the Senate on Thursday night.
The legislation for changes to the EPBC Act would have to return to the House of Representatives if there are amendments in the upper house.
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Updated at 21.26 EST
Sarah Basford Canales
Coalition to release principles on immigration policy before end of the year
The Coalition will release principles for its immigration policy before the end of the year, Sussan Ley told a joint party room meeting this morning.
Off the back of a bruising internal policy battle over net zero and energy policy, the opposition is hoping for a more “constructive”, as one Liberal MP might put it, few weeks to settle its next position.
The shadow home affairs minister, Jonathon Duniam, and shadow immigration minister, Paul Scarr, are holding consultations and open-door meetings with Coalition members between now and the year’s end to thrash out the stance it sells to the public before the next election (don’t stress, that’s at least two years away).
The deputy opposition leader, Ted O’Brien, told MPs and senators to rest up over the Christmas break, noting the Liberals had spent much of the past six months in the headlines. Perhaps not the headlines the opposition party was hoping for, however.
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Updated at 21.20 EST
Pauline Hanson is suspended from the Senate for seven days
After she speaks, Penny Wong gets back up to move a motion to suspend Hanson from the Senate entirely for seven days.
There are just a few voices who object to the suspension, and a division is called, but then quickly cancelled as Hanson stands up and says, “you can cancel that division, the people will judge me at the next election.”
Senate president Sue Lines cancels the division, and after that very intense hour, the chamber moves onto its normal, regularly scheduled programming.
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Hanson doubles down on burqa stunt: ‘You dare question me over my respect for this place?’
Hanson doubles down on her stunt yesterday in during the five minutes she has to explain or apologise following the censure motion.
She says the Senate should have allowed her to introduce her bill and debate it, and rejected claims she doesn’t have respect for people of faith.
You denied me and the people of Australia to have that voice, you chose to shut that down.
The parliamentarians that are here, you dare question me over my respect for this place? The senators in this place have no respect for the Australian people when they have an elected member who wants to move something and represent them and have a say.
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Updated at 21.21 EST
Babet interjects during Wong’s speech and rails against ‘radical Islam’
Josh Butler
We need to go back to an earlier part of the debate, after UAP senator Ralph Babet interjected during Penny Wong’s speech to claim “I hate radical Islam”.
As Krishani brought you earlier, Wong was speaking about Hanson’s burqa stunt, saying:
“After what occurred yesterday, someone I’m close to this morning spoke about a conversation with her seven-year-old daughter last night and her daughter asked, ‘Mummy, do all Christians hate Muslims?’ That summarised where we find ourselves,” she said.
Babet was heard by Guardian Australia, and by numerous people in the Senate chamber, to have called out “I do” at this point of Wong’s speech.
Approached for comment, Babet did not deny calling out the remark, adding: “Radical Islam has no place in Australia, it is the sword that the radical Marxists will use to dismantle western civilisation.”
The words “I do” can be faintly made out on video recordings of the Senate debate, and were heard by several Senate sources from various political parties. Babet told Guardian Australia he had said: “I do, I hate radical Islam”.
United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 21.10 EST
Pauline Hanson censured by the Senate – 55 votes to five
After splitting the motion – the first which the Coalition did not support (except for Andrew McLachlan, who crossed the floor to vote with the government) – the second part, which was the substantive text of the motion, has passed, 55 votes to 5.
As per the motion, Hanson now has five minutes to make an explanation or apology.
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Updated at 21.06 EST
