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Labor steps up its campaign against Senate voting reform – politics live Labor steps up its campaign against Senate voting reform – politics live
(35 minutes later)
11.23pm GMT
23:23
Behind you. Cory, behind you.
11.17pm GMT
23:17
Meanwhile, sitting up the back of the party room.
11.11pm GMT
23:11
Antony Green and Stephen Conroy are engaged in a willing discussion about the merits of voting above the line.
Conroy points out that many people are happy to vote above the line, and the party’s preference deals are publicly available for people who want to be very clear about the implications of their vote.
Green says people vote above the line because it is too complex to vote below the line.
Antony Green
You have been herding people above the line for the last three decades! It’s a herding process to make people vote above the line.
11.03pm GMT
23:03
Mackerras.
The [Senate voting] system is unconstitutional!
Q: And has been since 1984?
Yes.
10.57pm GMT
22:57
Back to the JSCEM. Malcolm Mackerras is fomenting revolution. He says senators must challenge this new Senate voting regime if it happens to pass the parliament. He says the system being proposed is the worst of all worlds.
Have a system based on principle. Have a decent system. It will get a good reputation. Let the chips fall where they may.
Updated
at 11.05pm GMT
10.54pm GMT
22:54
Excitements and filibusters
Turnbull has a section in this morning’s pep talk on Senate reform. The government is trying to put choice in the hands of the people, while Labor wants to keep power with the power brokers, the prime minister says.
Now the Labor party supported these changes, as you know in the unanimous joint standing committee recommendation sometime ago that Tony Smith so ably chaired. And now, for pure political purposes because they see a tactical advantage, they are filibustering in the Senate and standing in the way of this reform!
Labor is standing in the way.
Then back to the excitements + naughty Labor.
We have a strong case because what we offer Australians is a clear vision, a clear vision with every measure, every policy counting towards the achievement of the great jobs, the great opportunities of the 21st century.
These are the most exciting times to be alive. This is the most exciting time to be an Australian but we need the vision, the plans, the measures to take us there. We have them and Labor’s answer is simply to stand in the way of that progress.
Updated
at 11.04pm GMT
10.46pm GMT10.46pm GMT
22:4622:46
Meanwhile, the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, is delivering a pep talk to the Coalition partyroom with cameras present. He’s in ‘I’m the innovation prime minister’ mode. Meanwhile, the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, is delivering a pep talk to the Coalition party room with cameras present. He’s in ‘I’m the innovation prime minister’ mode.
There is much ‘hear hearing’ from the colleagues.There is much ‘hear hearing’ from the colleagues.
Malcolm TurnbullMalcolm Turnbull
We know these are the most exciting times! We’ve got to have the right policies to deal with it.We know these are the most exciting times! We’ve got to have the right policies to deal with it.
Labor – well they are standing in the way of the new economy, and sinking the value of the family home.Labor – well they are standing in the way of the new economy, and sinking the value of the family home.
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at 11.04pm GMT
10.43pm GMT10.43pm GMT
22:4322:43
Stephen Conroy asks Green about a blog post where he suggested the new system would be beneficial for the Coalition and for Nick Xenophon. He’s not inclined to repeat that here. Green notes the last election is hard to model because of the large number of candidates.Stephen Conroy asks Green about a blog post where he suggested the new system would be beneficial for the Coalition and for Nick Xenophon. He’s not inclined to repeat that here. Green notes the last election is hard to model because of the large number of candidates.
10.35pm GMT10.35pm GMT
22:3522:35
Ricky Muir in this morning’s committee hearing, with a couple of cross bench friends. Things that make you go hmmmm. Ricky Muir in this morning’s committee hearing, with a couple of crossbench friends. Things that make you go hmmmm.
UpdatedUpdated
at 10.36pm GMT at 10.51pm GMT
10.31pm GMT10.31pm GMT
22:3122:31
Up now at JSCEM we have professor George Williams, the ABC’s election analyst Antony Green, psephologist Malcolm Mackerras and Kevin Bonham from the University of Tasmania.Up now at JSCEM we have professor George Williams, the ABC’s election analyst Antony Green, psephologist Malcolm Mackerras and Kevin Bonham from the University of Tasmania.
Each are making opening statements.Each are making opening statements.
Williams says the Senate voting system needs reform but this bill only does half the job. He outlines his argument about the disparity between above the line and below the line being a problem. Optional preferential should apply for at least six below the line, Williams says, both as a point of principle and also to ensure the new regime can’t be challenged in the high court.Williams says the Senate voting system needs reform but this bill only does half the job. He outlines his argument about the disparity between above the line and below the line being a problem. Optional preferential should apply for at least six below the line, Williams says, both as a point of principle and also to ensure the new regime can’t be challenged in the high court.
Green agrees the disparity could allow a foot in the door for a high court challenge. He says it’s good action is being taken to reform the system, but it should have happened sooner.Green agrees the disparity could allow a foot in the door for a high court challenge. He says it’s good action is being taken to reform the system, but it should have happened sooner.
Mackerras is back with Doc Evatt, and in the present with the big party conspiracy, and Gary Gray’s dummy spit. He says he looks forward to the inevitable high court case with both fear and delight.Mackerras is back with Doc Evatt, and in the present with the big party conspiracy, and Gary Gray’s dummy spit. He says he looks forward to the inevitable high court case with both fear and delight.
That’s a tough act to follow for Kevin Bonham but he’s cracking on on a crackly line from Tasmania. No, the line is lost. The committee will have to call him back.That’s a tough act to follow for Kevin Bonham but he’s cracking on on a crackly line from Tasmania. No, the line is lost. The committee will have to call him back.
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at 10.43pm GMTat 10.43pm GMT
10.18pm GMT10.18pm GMT
22:1822:18
Meanwhile, outside the building.Meanwhile, outside the building.
UpdatedUpdated
at 10.41pm GMTat 10.41pm GMT
10.15pm GMT10.15pm GMT
22:1522:15
LDP senator David Leyonhjelm wonders when Tom Rogers’ “three months” clock starts? Now, or when the bill is passed?LDP senator David Leyonhjelm wonders when Tom Rogers’ “three months” clock starts? Now, or when the bill is passed?
Not now, says the commissioner.Not now, says the commissioner.
Until the legislation passes it is difficult for us to implement it.Until the legislation passes it is difficult for us to implement it.
UpdatedUpdated
at 10.41pm GMTat 10.41pm GMT
10.13pm GMT10.13pm GMT
22:1322:13
The electoral commissioner is asked about a submission from Michael Maley, a former AEC official.The electoral commissioner is asked about a submission from Michael Maley, a former AEC official.
Maley argues in his submission to JSCEM the scheme proposed will create an anomaly never previously seen at Senate elections – identical preferences for candidates may produce a formal vote if the elector expresses them “above the line” but an informal one if they are expressed “below the line” because the ballot paper would be insufficiently completed.Maley argues in his submission to JSCEM the scheme proposed will create an anomaly never previously seen at Senate elections – identical preferences for candidates may produce a formal vote if the elector expresses them “above the line” but an informal one if they are expressed “below the line” because the ballot paper would be insufficiently completed.
Stephen Conroy asks whether the commissioner accepts that Maley has expertise in this field.Stephen Conroy asks whether the commissioner accepts that Maley has expertise in this field.
Tom RogersTom Rogers
He absolutely does.He absolutely does.
So it he right?So it he right?
Rogers says Maley has expressed a number of different views in his submission. He says he has no view on his political statement about the dichotomy above and below the line.Rogers says Maley has expressed a number of different views in his submission. He says he has no view on his political statement about the dichotomy above and below the line.
I have no view on that.I have no view on that.
Rogers says the AEC will be advising Australians to lodge a formal vote.Rogers says the AEC will be advising Australians to lodge a formal vote.
UpdatedUpdated
at 10.41pm GMTat 10.41pm GMT
10.03pm GMT10.03pm GMT
22:0322:03
Nick Xenophon wants to know how difficult it would be to amend the bill to fix the problems a couple of experts have raised – the disparity between practices above the line and below the line.Nick Xenophon wants to know how difficult it would be to amend the bill to fix the problems a couple of experts have raised – the disparity between practices above the line and below the line.
As constitutional law expert George Williams put it:As constitutional law expert George Williams put it:
In particular, introducing optional preferential above-the-line voting, while retaining full preferential voting for below the line, creates an obvious and unfortunate disparity. The result will be a system in which below-the-line voting is significantly more onerous, thereby privileging the party-selected voting tickets applied in the case of an above-the-line vote.In particular, introducing optional preferential above-the-line voting, while retaining full preferential voting for below the line, creates an obvious and unfortunate disparity. The result will be a system in which below-the-line voting is significantly more onerous, thereby privileging the party-selected voting tickets applied in the case of an above-the-line vote.
The AEC officials don’t know how complicated this would be because they haven’t considered it. Can you consider it, Xenophon wants to know. Be good if you could.The AEC officials don’t know how complicated this would be because they haven’t considered it. Can you consider it, Xenophon wants to know. Be good if you could.
UpdatedUpdated
at 10.13pm GMTat 10.13pm GMT
10.00pm GMT10.00pm GMT
22:0022:00
Crossbencher Ricky Muir isn’t convinced the AEC will have the time it needs to get the change implemented.Crossbencher Ricky Muir isn’t convinced the AEC will have the time it needs to get the change implemented.
Tom Rogers repeats his advice that three months is the minimum.Tom Rogers repeats his advice that three months is the minimum.
If the bill changes significantly I will need to review that. If we don’t get the time we need and the funding we need its going to be very difficult to implement.If the bill changes significantly I will need to review that. If we don’t get the time we need and the funding we need its going to be very difficult to implement.
UpdatedUpdated
at 10.13pm GMTat 10.13pm GMT
9.56pm GMT
21:56
Conroy has asked AEC officials for all written correspondence with the government on the bill. The officials have taken that on notice. Going to be a big night for JSCEM. A report from this committee is due to be tabled first thing tomorrow morning.
9.52pm GMT
21:52
The electoral commissioner is telling the committee if this legislation becomes law, the AEC will run another voter education campaign to ensure people understand the changes.
Tom Rogers
We will be seeking additional funding. We are working with finance at the moment on those costs.
The commissioner declines to share the dollar figure he’s seeking because it contains a commercial-in-confidence element.
Labor’s Stephen Conroy asks who identified flaws in the bill when it was introduced last week in the House of Representatives. The government had to bring forward amendments to the bill to make sure Senate votes were counted on election night.
The AEC says it wasn’t them. Who was it? Was it finance? Ah, finance is not here, goes the Conroy riff.
9.45pm GMT
21:45
While I’m listening to this, Andrew Probyn from the West Australian this morning has unearthed what looks like material for the shadow cabinet deliberations on Senate voting reform. Advice from David Feeney (called in by the Labor leader Bill Shorten to try and resolve the internal row between Stephen Conroy and the shadow special minister of state Gary Gray) indicated the reforms proposed by JSCEM would “heighten the risk of a government Senate majority.”
Andrew Probyn:
Similarly, a report by Paul Erickson, the assistant national secretary of the ALP, concludes that “over two election cycles, this scenario would see the coalition win control of the Senate following the second election”.
9.40pm GMT
21:40
The electoral commissioner Tom Rogers has been asked by the Family First Senator Bob Day for his assessment of the policy change on voting behaviour. He declines to speculate about that.
9.34pm GMT
21:34
Meanwhile, outside the building.
Updated
at 10.03pm GMT
9.31pm GMT
21:31
Labor’s deputy Senate leader, Stephen Conroy, is leading the questioning at the moment in the JSCEM on the Senate voting package. It’s taken about four goes to get an answer to the question, when did the AEC first get consulted on the bill? The answer is the AEC’s legal counsel saw a draft version on February 11 (but the organisation provided input via the department of finance earlier on.)
Conroy notes that he’d like to seek clarification from the department of finance but officials have not been permitted to attend today’s hearings.
Updated
at 9.55pm GMT
9.22pm GMT
21:22
The hearing on Senate voting reform is kicking off now with officials from the Australian Electoral Commission. The AEC is telling the committee it will need three months to roll the new system out. If the bill changes, it might take longer than three months.
9.15pm GMT
21:15
I’ve just got one thing to say about Abbott on Safe Schools. Tony Abbott was the prime minister for two years. He’s not a bystander. If he had such a problem with this program, why did he consent to continuing to roll it out?
Updated
at 9.52pm GMT
9.11pm GMT
21:11
Shalailah Medhora
There’s also this. The former prime minister Tony Abbott has called for the immediate defunding of the Safe Schools program, saying it goes beyond its scope as an anti-bullying initiative. Abbott spoke to the Australian newspaper on Tuesday.
“It’s not an anti-bullying program,” he said. “It’s a social engineering program. Its funding should be terminated.”
Abbott is the latest conservative member of the Coalition to speak out against the initiative, which aims to stamp out homophobia and transphobia in schools.
8.59pm GMT
20:59
Top of the morning to you
Hello lovely people and welcome to Tuesday in Canberra, where there is scattered cloud, blue skies and lashings of contention.
With the government now sprinting in the direction of pushing Senate voting reform through the parliament with the support of the Greens and Nick Xenophon, Labor is attempting to slam on the brakes. Labor’s Senate leader, Penny Wong, has been on the ABC already criticising the Greens for participating in a strategy that looks very likely to smooth the path to a double-dissolution election, which could see the abolition of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation if the government chooses to invoke one of its previously stashed triggers.
The government’s voting reform package will this morning be the subject of a quick sticks inquiry by the joint parliamentary committee on electoral matters – a process that was compared in the Senate by Labor’s deputy leader Stephen Conroy last night to a sham process in Stalin’s Russia. (I did give you that weather forecast first up. Blustery.)
With resistance to the reform model building, the finance minister and special minister of state, Mathias Cormann, has been deployed this morning as the cooler on the wireless. Sure these are the biggest changes to the Australian voting system in 30 years and, sure, today there will be a four-hour inquiry to examine them, but this is all fine. Cormann says the government is proceeding with 85% of the recommendations of a previous inquiry by the joint committee on electoral matters. He says the government is intent on ensuring voters have the ultimate say with their Senate vote. He says Labor used to support this proposal but now it doesn’t. He says Labor’s national secretary, George Wright, isn’t even appearing at today’s hearing.
ABC Radio National host Fran Kelly puts to Cormann the government is flat out creating an impression it’s on an inelegant sprint to a double dissolution election, never mind the technicalities, like whether its current voting reform proposal creates a whole set of new problems (as some legal experts suggest it does.)
Mathias Cormann:
We don’t accept that at all.
The JSCEM inquiry kicks off shortly after 8, and I’ll cover as much of that as I can consistent with the other thundering madness of the political day.
Lots more on the go – we expect backbenchers to raise concerns in the Coalition party room today about the current government vacuum on tax policy and the industrial-sized hints that the government might do something on negative gearing. There are reports that the government’s media reform package will also go to the party room today.
Let’s power on, the comments thread is open for your business. We are also up and about on the Twits – Mikearoo is at @mpbowers and I’m @murpharoo
Construct a sound barrier, a bunch of cardboard boxes in a dome shape is fine, I suspect you might need it.
Here comes Tuesday.
Updated
at 9.52pm GMT