With 36 bills to pass, one less senator and only one day left in parliament – Australia’s decision makers are in for a wild ride.
The federal government has been chipping away at its agenda since Monday, but with only a few more hours to go in the last sitting week of the year, Labor will have to go warp speed to tick off its remaining items.
Centrepiece proposals like the social media ban for children younger than 16, clean energy incentives known as Future Made in Australia, and migration laws that would give the government powers to deport non-citizens are among the 36 bills that will be brought before the Senate on Thursday.
Asked if politicians would have to endure a marathon 24-hour sitting, manager of government business in the senate Katy Gallagher did not rule it out.
“If that is how we get these important bills through, then we are prepared to sit and wait,” she told ABC radio.
It is not uncommon for senators to vote through the night, though it remains unclear whether every piece of legislation has the support needed to pass.
Discussions have continued giving rise to last-minute amendments and other negotiations have reached an impasse.
“Peter Dutton’s opposition … want to block, they’ll engage and they’ll keep you hanging, and then they block,” Senator Gallagher said.
“They’re not interested in implementing reform.”
Senator Gallagher has said the government will go to other members of the Senate to get its legislation across the line.
However, that has become more difficult as the Senate suspended independent senator Lidia Thorpe on Wednesday night after she threw pieces of paper at Pauline Hanson over a racism row.
This means Senator Thorpe has been barred from the chamber and will be unable to vote on any legislation.
Members of the Senate have also raised concerns that the compressed timeline will not allow bills to be properly considered, with Nationals senator Matt Canavan arguing that each piece of legislation would only receive 15 minutes of debate assuming the chamber sat for its usual nine-hour day.
“What other workplace gets to knock off in November and not back until February?” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Let’s come back next week, keep working and properly scrutinise…”
But Senator Gallagher has insisted on pushing ahead.
“These are important bills, we’re being upfront, we’re allowing time,” she said.
A federal election must be held by May 17, but if the government opts for an earlier contest, politicians may not return to Parliament House before Australians go to the polls.
https://thewest.com.au/politics/mad-dash-as-labor-rams-through-36-bills-on-final-day-c-16903787
