This chronology of events has been compiled from
published sources and includes images and links to
audio-visual and documentary records. Appendix 1 presents a list of notable
legislation passed by the Commonwealth Parliament in 2018.
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Milestones
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Details
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Source Documents
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12 January
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Parliament House
water plan
The Department of
Parliamentary Services is granted permission by the ACT government to draw
water from Lake Burley Griffin to be treated and used on its grounds.[1] A 1.5km
underground pipe will carry the water from a pump station near the lake to
Capital Hill.[2]
Parliament House will be permitted to use 1.5 per cent of the water available
from Lake Burley Griffin.[3]
The new water plan
follows a 2014 study which found that the lake could provide a safe, reliable
and cost effective water supply for landscape irrigation at Parliament House.[4]
|
Parliament House with Lake Burley Griffin in
the foreground
Image source: Matt Ryall, Wikimedia Commons
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5 February
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John Alexander sworn
in after winning Bennelong by‑election
John Alexander (Lib.) is sworn in
as the member for Bennelong (NSW) after winning a by-election in the seat on
16 December 2017.[5]
He had resigned as the Member for Bennelong in November 2017 over possible
dual citizenship which would have made him ineligible to stand for or sit in
Parliament under section 44(i) of the Constitution. Mr Alexander renounced any rights to British citizenship prior to
nominating for the by-election.[6]
He was subsequently advised by the United Kingdom Home Office that they had
not found any evidence that he had held British citizenship.[7]
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John Alexander
Image source: Auspic
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5 February
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David Feeney
resigns; by-election in Batman
The Speaker, Tony Smith
(Lib., Casey, Vic.) advises the House that David Feeney
(ALP, Batman, Vic.) has resigned his seat.[8]
The resignation follows Mr Feeney’s referral to the High Court on 6 December 2017,[9]
after he stated that he was unable to locate documentation confirming
renunciation of his British and Irish citizenship.[10]
A by-election
is subsequently held in the seat of Batman on 17 March.
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David Feeney
Image source: Auspic
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5 February
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Fraser Anning to sit
as an Independent senator
Senator Fraser Anning
(Qld) announces that he will leave Pauline Hanson’s One
Nation party to sit as an
Independent.[11]
Senator Anning filled the vacancy created by the disqualification of Senator Malcolm Roberts (PHON, Qld)
in October 2017.
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Fraser Anning
Image source: Auspic
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5 February
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Lucy Gichuhi joins
the Liberal Party
Senator Lucy Gichuhi
(Ind., SA) announces
that she has become a member of the Liberal Party.[12] Appointed to the Senate
in April 2017, Senator Gichuhi filled the vacancy created by the disqualification of Senator Bob Day (FFP, SA),[13] but announced
in May 2017 that she would sit as an Independent senator. [14]
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Lucy Gichuhi
Image source: Auspic
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5 February
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Tributes for former
minister Barry Cohen
A condolence motion in the House pays tribute to former minister Barry Cohen
(ALP, Robertson, NSW), who died on 18 December 2017.[15] Mr Cohen was a Member of
Parliament from 1969 to 1990.[16]
He served as Minister for Home Affairs and the Environment; Minister for
Arts, Heritage and the Environment; and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister
for the Bicentennial.[17]
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Barry Cohen
Image source: Auspic
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7 February
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George Brandis
resigns from the Senate
Senator George Brandis (Lib., Qld), resigns from the Senate. He first entered the Senate in
2000 and served in the ministry from 2007 to 2017, most recently as
Attorney-General. In his valedictory speech, he says:
And so now, as I
close this, the longest chapter of my life, I leave as I arrived: an
unapologetic, committed liberal, a little bloodied perhaps but nevertheless
unbowed.[18]
Senator Brandis’
resignation follows Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s announcement in
December 2017 that he would be appointed Australia’s new High Commissioner to
the United Kingdom.[19]
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George Brandis
Image source: Auspic
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8 February
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Statements on the
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
The Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull (Lib., Wentworth, NSW), and the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten
(ALP, Maribyrnong, Vic.) both make statements in the House following the
release of the final report
of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse on
15 December 2017. Mr Turnbull says:
The
report is the product of five years of hard and harrowing work for all those
involved, and today we honour the bravest among them—the survivors and their
families. They relived the worst moments of their lives, often telling their
stories for the first time, so that these terrible abuses will never be
allowed to happen again ... Now that those stories have been told, now that
they are on the record, we must do everything within our power to honour
those stories and to act.
I
am committed and my government
is committed to doing everything possible to make sure that this national
tragedy is never repeated.[20]
Mr Shorten says:
Open
almost any page of the final report and you can find words that shake us to
our core ... These institutions failed our fellow Australians, and then our
nation did ... The reputation of powerful institutions and individuals was put
ahead of the welfare of children ... If we believe the survivors, and we do, and if we accept
responsibility, and we must, then conscience demands only one course of
action: we must deliver a truly national redress scheme, one underpinned by
uniformity and equity.[21]
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Final report of the Royal Commission into
Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
Image source: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to
Child Sexual Abuse
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12 February
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10th annual Closing
the Gap statement
The Prime Minister,
Malcolm Turnbull, tables the 10th Closing the Gap report, and delivers the 2018 Closing the Gap statement. He says:
Every day, we see
proof that many people's lives are improving.
As part of the Closing
the Gap refresh, state-by-state targets will help give more granular and
specific local insight to progress, or lack of progress, and more precisely,
where more focused effort is needed.
I can advise the
House three of the seven Closing the Gap targets are on track this year,
giving us the most promising result since 2011.[22]
The Leader of the
Opposition, Bill Shorten, says:
We
all welcome the improvements in this year's Closing the Gap report.
I concur with the Prime Minister that it's heartening to see the goals for
reducing child mortality and improving early child education back on track.
Year 12 attainment remains strong. I acknowledge the progress of the procurement
strategy. In this place we should certainly celebrate the successes, the blue
sky, and there are many. But we also need to face up to the fact that on too
many fronts progress remains far too slow.[23]
The four Closing the Gap
targets that are not on track relate to school attendance, reading and
numeracy, employment and life expectancy.[24]
|
Malcolm Turnbull delivers the 2018 Closing the
Gap statement while Ken Wyatt looks on
Image source: ParlView
Watch: Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull’s 2018 Closing the Gap statement
Watch: Opposition Leader
Bill Shorten’s response
Source: ParlView
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12 February
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Senators Colbeck and
Martin sworn in
Tasmanian Senators Richard Colbeck (Lib.) and Steve Martin
(Ind.) are sworn in.
Senator Colbeck, who
served in the Senate from 2002 to 2016, returns to fill the casual vacancy
created by the resignation of Stephen Parry
(Lib., Tas.) in November 2017 due to his dual citizenship.
On 6 February 2018 the
High Court ruled that Steve Martin was not incapable of being chosen or of
sitting as a senator by reason of section 44(iv) of the Constitution, a question that required resolution before the two Tasmanian Senate
vacancies could be filled.[25]
Senator Martin fills the vacancy that followed the resignation of Jacqui Lambie
(JLN, Tas.) in November 2017 due to her dual citizenship. On 13 February 2018
he informs the Senate that:
Although I stood as
a member of the JLN, I wish to notify the Senate that I will now be sitting
as an Independent.[26]
He gives his first speech
on 21 March.
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Richard Colbeck
Image source: Auspic
Steve
Martin
Image source: Auspic
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13 February
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10th anniversary of
the Apology to the Stolen Generations
Parliament marks the
10th anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations, with former Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd
watching from the gallery.[27]
The Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, says:
Today marks a decade
since former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised to Australia's first
peoples. Ten years ago the gallery in this place was a sea of proud but
heartbroken Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, their eyes telling
the story of the trauma they'd lived with for their whole lives. They came to
hear the leader of the nation finally acknowledge that their pain, suffering
and hurt, and the pain, suffering and hurt of their parents and grandparents,
was a deep and irreparable wrong.[28]
The Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, says:
Ten years after
saying sorry, we need to know that we mean it with belated compensation for
survivors, with support for the healing of their descendants, with national
action to tackle the crisis of Aboriginal kids growing up in out-of-home
care.[29]
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Kevin Rudd
Image source: Auspic
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13 February
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Rotation of senators
In the wake of several
changes in the Senate’s composition due to disqualifications under section 44 of the Constitution, the Senate resolves to allocate terms for a number of senators.
In doing so, the Senate
again adopts order of election as the method for allocating long and short
terms (initially adopted in August 2016), although in this instance terms are allocated
according to the order of election arising from special recounts of 2016
election ballots rather than according to the order of election resulting
from the original 2016 election itself.[30]
The recounts are conducted for each state as if the number of vacancies is
for a normal half-Senate election rather than a double dissolution election,
and only include senators elected at the election.[31]
Senators Martin (Ind., Tas.) and Hinch (DHJP, Vic.)
speak against the motion.
The
Senate resolution also involves changing the existing terms of some senators,
and this is the first time that the Senate has altered the term lengths of
senators during a term (after the initial allocation of terms in August
2016). The effect of the resolution is largely one ‘of shuffling terms within
parties or party groupings, so that some candidates originally allocated
3-year terms are “promoted” to a 6-year term ahead of colleagues further down
the ballot paper.’[32]
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14 February
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Murray-Darling basin
plan changes disallowed
The Senate votes to disallow changes to the
Murray-Darling basin plan to reduce water recovery targets, placing the
future of the plan in doubt.[33]
New South Wales and Victoria had threatened to withdraw support for the
plan if the changes were disallowed.[34]
A reduced water recovery target could be reconsidered along with changes to
the southern basin plan to be considered by Parliament in May.[35]
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15 February
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New senator for New
South Wales
Senator Kristina Keneally (ALP, NSW) is sworn in.
The former Premier of New South Wales fills the casual vacancy created by the
resignation of Sam Dastyari (ALP, NSW), following her unsuccessful attempt to enter the House of
Representatives at the December 2017 Bennelong by-election. She gives her first speech
on 27 March.
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Kristina Keneally
Image source: Auspic
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15 February
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Opposition motion
calls for sacking of Deputy Prime Minister
The Opposition moves a motion that calls on the Prime Minister ‘to immediately sack the
Deputy Prime Minister for clearly breaching the Prime Minister’s Statement of
Ministerial Standards.’[36]
The alleged breach relates to the Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce
(NP, New England, NSW) reportedly seeking and accepting a gift in the
form of rent‑free accommodation.[37]
The motion is defeated by 73 votes to 70.[38]
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15 February
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Changes to the
Statement of Ministerial Standards
Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull amends the Statement of Ministerial Standards to include the words:
Ministers,
regardless of whether they are married or single, must not engage in sexual
relations with their staff. Doing so will constitute a breach of the
standards.[39]
The Statement sets out the
Prime Minister’s expectations concerning the behaviour of Ministers and
Parliamentary Secretaries.
The changes follow reports
that Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, in Mr Turnbull’s words, ‘made
a shocking error of judgement in having an affair with a young woman working
in his office’.[40]
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Read: Statement of Ministerial Standards
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23 February
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New homes for
Parliament House possums
Possum boxes are set up
in the gardens of Parliament House.[41]
The boxes will be new homes for the possums that have been found living in
unorthodox places around the building, such as in gardening sheds, tennis
court pavilions, inside tyres and drain pipes, and on top of air-conditioning
units.[42]
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Brushtail possum
Image source: Andrew Mercer, Wikimedia Commons
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23 February
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Barnaby Joyce
announces he will resign as Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the National
Party
Barnaby Joyce announces his intention to resign on 26 February as Deputy Prime Minister,
Leader of the Nationals and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport.[43] His
resignation follows intensive media scrutiny of his partner’s employment
within parliamentary offices and harassment allegations against him.[44]
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Barnaby Joyce
Image source: Auspic
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26 February
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Michael McCormack
becomes Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals Leader
Following the
resignation of Barnaby Joyce, the Nationals elect Michael McCormack (Riverina, NSW) as their new leader.[45] Mr McCormack is sworn in
as Deputy Prime Minister and becomes the Minister for Infrastructure and
Transport, the portfolio previously held by Mr Joyce.[46]
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Michael McCormack
Image source: Auspic
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26 February
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Speaker’s statement
on security/protest
The Speaker, Tony
Smith, makes a statement to the House concerning the protest in the public galleries
which interrupted Question Time on 30 November 2016, and the additional
protests that occurred the following day. He advises that the two protesters
who abseiled down the front façade of Parliament House pleaded guilty to a
charge of behaving in a disorderly manner on Commonwealth Premises, and each
received a fine of $1,500.[47]
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Protesters abseil down the front of Parliament House on
1 December 2016
Image source: A Hough
Watch: Statement by the Speaker
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26 February
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Award for Parliament
House honey
Parliament House’s
honey wins second prize at the Royal Canberra Show.[48] Cormac Farrell, the head
beekeeper at Parliament House, thanked the landscaping team for creating
beautiful bee-friendly gardens.[49] |
Image source: Department of Parliamentary
Services
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2 March
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Ministerial
reshuffle – Chester and Pitt elevated
Former Cabinet minister
Darren Chester (NP, Gippsland, Vic.) and former assistant minister Keith Pitt
(NP, Hinkler, Qld), who lost their ministry positions in a December 2017
reshuffle, are reappointed to the ministry by new Nationals leader Michael
McCormack.[50]
Mr Chester becomes the
Minister for Veterans Affairs, Minister for Defence Personnel and Minister
Assisting for the Centenary of Anzac.[51]
Mr Pitt becomes Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister.[52]
Mr Chester and Mr Pitt
replace Luke Hartsuyker (NP, Cowper, NSW) and Damian Drum
(NP, Murray, Vic.).[53]
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Darren Chester
Image source: Auspic
Keith Pitt
Image source: Auspic
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15 March
|
Visit by the Prime
Minister of Vietnam
The Prime Minister of
Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, visits Parliament House. During the visit, Prime
Minister Malcolm Turnbull announces that Australia and Vietnam are ‘elevating
our relationship to a strategic partnership’.[54] Cooperation between the
two countries will cover ‘areas from defence to development’.[55]
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Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc and
Malcolm Turnbull
Image source: ParlView
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17 March
|
Batman by-election
Following the
resignation of David Feeney (ALP) on 5 February, a by-election is held
in the seat of Batman (Vic.). The by-election is won by Ged Kearney
(ALP). Ms Kearney gives her first speech
on 21 May.
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Ged Kearney
Image source: Auspic
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19 March
|
Joint Select
Committee on Constitutional Recognition Relating to Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Peoples established
Following a resolution of the House of Representatives on 1
March to establish a Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition
Relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, the Senate also resolves to establish the Committee.[56]
The Committee is to consider the recommendations of the Referendum Council
(2017), the Uluru Statement from the Heart (2017), the Joint Select Committee
on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Peoples (2015), and the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of
Indigenous Australians (2012).[57]
The move follows the
Turnbull government’s rejection in October 2017 of the Referendum Council’s
call for a national Indigenous representatives’ assembly to be added to the Constitution.[58]
Responding to the Referendum Council’s report, Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull, Attorney-General George Brandis and Indigenous Affairs Minister
Nigel Scullion stated that:
The government does
not believe such an addition to our national representative institutions is
either desirable or capable of winning acceptance in a referendum.[59]
The Committee publishes its
interim report on 30 July 2018 and its final report
on 29 November 2018. The recommendations of the final report include ‘that the Australian Government initiate
a process of co-design with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’
for a First Nations Voice.[60]
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19 March
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New senator for
South Australia
Tim Storer
(Ind., SA) is sworn in
as a senator. He was elected following a recount of ballot papers following
the resignation of NXT senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore in November 2017. He had been an NXT senate
candidate at the 2016 election, but was expelled from the party in October
2017 after making an unsuccessful legal bid to fill the Senate casual vacancy
created by the resignation of party leader Nick Xenophon.[61] Former
senator Kakoschke-Moore had attempted to reclaim her Senate seat in the
High Court, but her bid was rejected.[62]
On 21 March Senator
Storer informs the Senate that he will be sitting as an Independent senator.[63] He gives his first speech
on 9 May 2018.
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Tim Storer
Image source: Auspic
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19 March
|
Visit by Aung San
Suu Kyi, State Counsellor of Myanmar
Aung San Suu Kyi, the
State Counsellor of Myanmar, visits Parliament House for bilateral meetings following
the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Sydney.[64] During
a meeting with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull the ongoing humanitarian
crisis in Rakhine state in Myanmar is discussed and Mr Turnbull encourages
‘Aung San Suu Kyi to resettle displaced Rohingya’.[65]
|
Aung San Suu Kyi during a ceremonial welcome at
Parliament House
Image source: ParlView
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21 March
|
High Court challenge
to David Gillespie unsuccessful
An attempt to challenge
the eligibility of David Gillespie (NP, Lyne, NSW) to sit in the Parliament ends,
after the High Court finds that
the method of bringing the challenge was not legitimate.[66] The ALP candidate at the
2016 election, Peter Alley, had brought the case through the Common Informers (Parliamentary Disqualifications)
Act 1975 (‘the Common Informers
Act’).[67]
He had argued that Gillespie’s ownership of a shopping centre which leased
space to a franchisee of Australia Post constituted grounds for
disqualification under section 44(v) of the Constitution.[68]
The High Court holds that the Common Informers Act ‘does not confer
jurisdiction upon the Court to decide whether a person is ... incapable of
sitting as a senator or as a member of the House of Representatives.’[69]
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David Gillespie
Image source: Auspic
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22 March
|
New senator for
Queensland
Amanda Stoker
(Lib., Qld) is sworn in
as a senator. She was chosen to fill the casual vacancy created by the
resignation of George Brandis.
The President of the
Senate, Scott Ryan (Lib., Vic.), notes that:
... this is the first
time the Senate has had its full complement of 76 senators since the
resignation of Senator Ludlam on 14 July last year. At 250 days, that
represents the longest period the Senate has been incomplete since
Federation.[70]
Senator Stoker gives
her first speech
on 20 June 2018.
|
Amanda Stoker
Image source: Auspic
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26 March
|
Launch of Parliament
House 30th anniversary program
The Speaker of the
House of Representatives, Tony Smith, and the President of the Senate,
Scott Ryan, launch the Australian Parliament House 30th anniversary program and the exhibitions Design in a Decade–The 1980s
and From Competition to Completion–Building Parliament
House.
Design in a Decade showcases the art and craft of the 1980s, while From
Competition to Completion charts the building’s progress from the
announcement of its construction in 1978 to its opening in 1988 through
objects, artworks and images.
|
The Presiding Officers launch the Parliament
House 30th anniversary program
Image source: Department
of Parliamentary Services
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27 March
|
Indigenous women
stage sit-in to raise awareness of domestic violence
Indigenous women from
Alice Springs stage a sit-in, or sorry ceremony, at Parliament House in
memory of Indigenous women who have been killed or injured by partners and
relatives.[71]
Senator Malarndirri McCarthy (ALP, NT), who joins the women at the sit-in, says:
They’ve gone through
a lot. They’ve got a very deep investment on an emotional level in terms of
what they want to see for themselves and for their children and
grandchildren.[72]
Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander women are killed by their partners at twice the rate of other
Australian women, according to research by the Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare.
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27 March
|
Former minister
Bruce Billson censured
The House of Representatives passes a motion censuring former Member and minister Bruce Billson
(LP, Dunkley, Vic., 1996–2016):
for failing to
discharge his obligations as a Member to the House in taking up paid
employment for services to represent the interests of an organisation while
he was a Member of the House, and failing to fulfil his responsibilities as a
Member by appropriately declaring his personal and pecuniary interests, in
respect of this paid employment ...[73]
The censure motion follows
an inquiry by the Standing Committee of Privileges and
Members’ Interests which
recommended that Mr Billson be censured and that the House standing orders be
amended:
to include an
express prohibition on a Member engaging in services of a lobbying nature for
reward or consideration while still a Member of the House of Representatives.[74]
Mr Billson had accepted a
paid part-time role with the Franchise Council of Australia while serving as
Minister for Small Business.[75]
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Bruce Billson
Image source: Auspic
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28 March
|
Launch of The First
Eight Project and Deakin book
The President of the
Senate, Scott Ryan, and the Speaker of the House, Tony Smith, launch The
First Eight Project at the Parliamentary Library. The project is a
collaboration between the Parliamentary Library, the National Museum of
Australia, the National Archives of Australia, the Victorian Parliamentary
Library and the Australian National University’s Australian Studies
Institute. Over the course of the project, the Parliamentary Library will
hold annual lectures and publish a series of short biographies of each of
Australia’s first eight Prime Ministers. The first book, Alfred Deakin –
the lives, the legacy: Australia’s second prime minister by historian
David Headon, is launched along with the project.
|
Scott Ryan, David Headon and Tony Smith at the launch of The First
Eight Project and Alfred Deakin – the lives, the legacy
Image source: Auspic
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2 May
|
Tim Hammond resigns
Tim Hammond
(ALP, Perth, WA) announces his resignation from the Parliament, stating that:
as much as I have
tried desperately, I just cannot reconcile my life as a Federal Member of
Parliament with being the father I need – and want – to be to my three
children ...[76]
Mr Hammond was first
elected at the 2016 federal election.
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Tim Hammond
Image source: Auspic
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8 May
|
Treasurer delivers 2018 Budget
The Treasurer, Scott Morrison (Lib., Cook, NSW), delivers the 2018 Budget, his third. He states
that:
A stronger economy.
More jobs. Guaranteeing essential services. The Government living within its
means. That is what this Budget is about.[77]
In his Budget reply speech on 10 May, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says:
My fellow
Australians, as I listened to the government's fifth budget on Tuesday night,
I knew immediately we can do better than this, the people of Australia
deserve better than this and a Labor government will deliver better than this
...[78]
|
Scott Morrison delivering the 2018 Budget
Image source: ParlView
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|
9 May
|
Parliament House 30th anniversary
At the start of
the sitting on 9 May, the Speaker relayed to the House and the President
relayed to the Senate a message from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the
occasion of the 30th anniversary of the official opening by Her Majesty of
Parliament House.[79]
In her statement the Queen says:
I remember with
fondness my visit to Canberra during Australia's Bicentenary and was
interested to learn that Parliament House now attracts more than one million
visitors each year.
This message comes
with my best wishes to you and the Australian people for a most successful
year of events marking this milestone in the history of your National
Parliament.[80]
A ceremony in the forecourt
to celebrate the 30th anniversary includes an address by the Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove, a Smoking Ceremony, a Welcome to Country, a
multi-faith blessing, a choir performance, and a birthday cake in the shape
of Parliament House. Parliament House’s 30th anniversary Open Day, held on 6
October, includes a mass yoga session on the front lawns and the first public
display of a new LEGO scale model of the building.
|
Image source: Department of Parliamentary
Services
Watch: A Birthday Celebration — 30 years of Australian
Parliament House
Source: ParlView
Read: APH 30th anniversary program
Read: The 30th anniversary of Australia’s Parliament House
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9 May
|
High Court finds ACT senator ineligible
The High Court, sitting as the Court of Disputed
returns, finds Senator Katy Gallagher (ALP, ACT) ineligible to sit in the Parliament under section 44(i)
of the Constitution. The Court orders that the resulting vacancy be filled by a special
count of the ballot papers from the 2016 election.[81]
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Katy Gallagher
Image source: Auspic
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9 May
|
Four Members of Parliament resign
In the wake of the High Court’s ruling on the
eligibility of Katy Gallagher to sit in the Parliament, four further Members
of Parliament announce their resignations:
On 24 May the Speaker advises the House that
by-elections will be held on 28 July in those electorates—and in the
electorate of Perth (WA), where the Member, Tim Hammond (ALP), resigned on
2 May.[82]
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23 May
|
New senator for the ACT
Following a special
count of the ballot papers from the 2016 election, the High Court, sitting as the Court of Disputed
Returns, declares David Smith (ALP) duly elected as a senator for the Australian Capital Territory.
He fills the vacancy created when Katy Gallagher (ALP, ACT) was declared
ineligible to sit in the Parliament under section 44(i) of the Constitution. Senator Smith is sworn in on 18 June[83]
and gives his first speech
on 27 June.
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David Smith
Image source: Auspic
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24 May
|
Visit by the Prime Minister of the Republic of
Trinidad and Tobago
A parliamentary
delegation from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, led by Prime Minister
the Hon Dr Keith Rowley, visits Parliament House.[84]
‘Matters of national security, border protection, counter terrorism as well
as sea transport’ are reported as the main focus of the visit.[85]
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25 May
|
Senator Martin joins the Nationals
Senator Steve Martin
(Ind., Tas.) announces that he has joined the Nationals.[86] It is the first time the
party has had representation in Tasmania since the 1920s (when it was known
as the Australian Country Party).[87]
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29 May
|
Electronic voting on the way for the House
The Leader of the
House, Christopher Pyne (Lib., Sturt, SA), announces that electronic voting will be
implemented for Members in the House of Representatives in 2019. Electronic
voting was recommended by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on
Procedure in its April 2016 report Division required?.[88]
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4 June
|
Senator Anning joins Katter’s Australian Party
Senator Fraser Anning
(Ind., Qld) announces
that he has joined Katter’s Australian Party (KAP). Senator Anning’s
move gives KAP one representative in each chamber.
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13 June
|
Visit by the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands
The Prime Minister of
the Solomon Islands, the Honourable Rick Houenipwela, visits Parliament House. It is his first official visit to Australia as
Prime Minister.[89]
Following a ceremonial welcome, bilateral discussions take place, focusing on
security, telecommunications and cyber issues, including the construction of
a telecommunication cable network to link remote provinces to the Solomon
Islands’ capital city, Honiara.[90]
|
Madam Rachel Houenipwela, Solomon Islands Prime
Minister Rick Houenipwela and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull
Image source: ParlView
Watch: State visit by the Prime Minister of the Solomon
Islands
Source: ParlView
|
|
14 June
|
Senator Burston quits Pauline Hanson’s One Nation
Senator Brian Burston (PHON, NSW) announces that he has quit Pauline
Hanson’s One Nation party.[91]
On 18 June Senator Burston announces
that he has joined the United Australia Party, led by former Member of
Parliament Clive Palmer (formerly of the Palmer United Party).[92]
|
Brian Burston
Image source: Auspic
|
|
21 June
|
Parliamentary privilege and the use of intrusive
powers
The Senate adopts the recommendations of a March 2018 Senate Standing Committee of
Privileges report titled Parliamentary privileges and the use of intrusive
powers focusing on the use of
intrusive powers by law enforcement and intelligence agencies.[93] The
Committee concludes that ‘existing protocols are not sufficient to protect
the work of the Parliament from possible interference’,[94] and recommends that new
protocols be developed ‘that will set out agreed processes to be followed by
law enforcement and intelligence agencies when exercising those powers’.[95]
The President of the Senate, Scott Ryan, also raises
the issue of parliamentary privilege and the use of intrusive powers in a submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and
Security’s review of the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment
(Assistance and Access) Bill 2018.
When the bill is subsequently considered on 6 December 2018, the
President tables a response from the Attorney-General and Acting Minister for Home Affairs,
indicating that the government would ‘give serious consideration’ to the
procedures governing the exercise of the relevant powers, and work
collaboratively with the Parliament to ‘better address the intersection
between parliamentary privileges and lawful access to modern communications.’[96]
|
|
|
25 June
|
Visit by the Prime Minister of Vanuatu
Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull meets with the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, the Honourable Charlot
Salwai Tabimasmas during his visit to Parliament House.[97] The two leaders agree to
‘commence negotiations on a Bilateral Security Treaty’, ‘enhance official police-to-police
cooperation’, and ‘deepen ... cooperation on labour mobility’.[98]
|
Prime Minister of Vanuatu Charlot Salwai
Tabimasmas and Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull
Image source: ParlView
Watch: Visit by the Honourable Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas,
Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu
Source: ParlView
|
|
7 July
|
Crafting the house on the hill exhibition
The exhibition ‘Crafting the house on the hill: art, design and the
building of Australian Parliament House’ opens at the Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG).[99] The exhibition, which
runs until 4 November 2018, reveals the stories behind Parliament
House’s major art and design commissions. The exhibition is a partnership
between CMAG, Australian Parliament House and the National Archives of
Australia.
The same day, artist
Mandy Martin speaks at CMAG about her painting Red Ochre Cove. The
12-metre wide painting, commissioned for the Main Committee Room while
Parliament House was under construction, was removed and replaced earlier in
the year in order to facilitate the refurbishment of the Parliament House skylights.
|
The exhibition opening
Image source: Auspic
|
|
28 July
|
‘Super Saturday’ by-elections
Five by-elections are
held on this day, referred to in the media as ‘Super Saturday’. Each of the
four members of Parliament who had resigned in May over their dual
citizenship—Justine Keay
(ALP, Braddon, Tas.), Susan Lamb
(ALP, Longman, Qld), Rebekha Sharkie (CA, Mayo, SA) and Josh Wilson
(ALP, Fremantle, WA)—all regain their seats, while Patrick Gorman (ALP) succeeds Tim Hammond (ALP) in the seat of
Perth.
|
Image source: Dude7248
(Own workown), Wikimedia Commons
|
|
6–10 August
|
The Great Hall Tapestry is cleaned
The tapestry in the
Great Hall of Parliament House, which, at twenty metres wide, is one of the
world’s largest, receives its first cleaning since 1999.[100] The delicate
operation, conducted on the floor of the Members Hall, takes a week to
complete.[101]
|
Student volunteers from the University of
Canberra help to clean the Great Hall Tapestry
Image source: Australian Parliament House on Twitter (Department of Parliamentary Services)
|
|
13 August
|
‘Super Saturday’ MPs sworn in
The five members of the
House of Representatives elected at the ‘Super Saturday’ by-elections on 28
July are sworn in.[102] Only
one of the four, Patrick Gorman (ALP, Perth, WA), is new to the Parliament. He gives his first speech
on 10 September 2018.
|
Patrick Gorman
Image source: Auspic
|
|
13 August
|
Senator crosses the floor
Senator Steve Martin
(NP, Tas.) crosses the floor to oppose legislation that would make university
graduates start paying back their loans once their earnings reached $45,500
per annum.[103]
Senator Martin says he is ‘staying true to my word’ after promising to oppose
the legislation before he joined the Nationals.[104]
A Government
or Opposition member of parliament refusing to vote with his or her own party
in this way (and instead crossing the floor of the chamber to vote with
another party) has occurred in approximately three per cent of divisions
since 1950.[105]
|
|
|
13 August
|
President’s statement on parliamentary language in
the Senate, censure motion
The President of the
Senate, Scott Ryan, makes a statement about parliamentary language following an exchange between Senators David Leyonhjelm (LDP, NSW) and Sarah Hanson‑Young (AG, SA) on 28 June 2018 that ‘became the
subject of substantial public debate and commentary’.[106] The
President states that:
This is rightly a
place of vigorous debate, but personal abuse has no place in this chamber,
particularly if it targets personal attributes, such as race or gender ... I
intend to take a strict line on the use of such language ...[107]
The following day, the
Senate passes a motion censuring Senator Leyonhjelm for his comments.[108]
Earlier in August Senator
Hanson-Young commenced defamation proceedings against Senator Leyonhjelm—the
first time a sitting Australian parliamentarian has taken such action against
a fellow parliamentarian.[109]
|
David Leyonhjelm
Image source: Auspic |
|
13 August
|
Senator Rhiannon gives her valedictory speech
Senator Lee Rhiannon
(AG, NSW) gives her valedictory speech,[110] having flagged her intention to retire from
Parliament in May 2018.[111]
Senator Rhiannon has been a senator since 2010 and previously served in the
New South Wales Legislative Council from 1999 to 2010.
|
Lee Rhiannon
Image source: Auspic
|
|
14 August
|
Senator Anning’s first speech
Senator Fraser Anning
(KAP, Qld) gives his first speech,
in which he calls for a ‘final solution to the immigration problem’.[112]
His speech is widely
criticised by his fellow parliamentarians.[113]
On 25 October 2018, Senator Anning is expelled from Katter’s Australian
Party.[114]
|
|
|
15 August
|
Restoring Territory Rights (Assisted Suicide
Legislation) Bill voted down
The Senate holds a
conscience vote on a private Senator’s bill introduced by Senator David
Leyonhjelm. The Restoring Territory Rights (Assisted Suicide
Legislation) Bill 2015 seeks to
restore the right of the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern
Territory to make laws concerning assisted suicide. The Bill is voted down by 36 votes to 34.[115]
In September, the
Speaker, Tony Smith, informs the House that he has received remonstrances
from the legislative assemblies of the Northern Territory (on 12 September 2018) and the Australian Capital Territory (on 18 September 2018), concerning the democratic rights of territory
citizens.[116]
(A remonstrance is a formal document setting out grievances or
complaints and seeking their redress.)
|
|
|
15 August
|
Opposition Leader asked a question without notice
Unusually, a question without notice is directed to the Leader
of the Opposition. Susan Lamb
(ALP, Longman, Qld) asks Bill Shorten to ‘inform the House about the progress
through the Parliament of his private member’s bill which would restore
penalty rates for working Australians’.[117]
The Speaker, Tony
Smith, notes at
the time that ‘questions are allowed to private members on private members’
bills that have been introduced by those members and on notices of motion’.[118]
|
|
|
20 August
|
Two milestones for women in the Senate
Senator Mehreen Faruqi (AG, NSW) becomes the 100th woman to serve as a senator[119] and
the first female Muslim senator.[120]
Senator Faruqi served
in the New South Wales Legislative Council from 2013 to 2018. She fills the
casual vacancy created by the retirement of Lee Rhiannon. She gives her first speech
on 21 August 2018.
|
Mehreen Faruqi
Image source: Auspic
|
|
20 August
|
Visit by the President of Poland
The President of
Poland, Andrzej Duda, visits Parliament House.[121] His meeting
with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull includes discussions of ‘progress on an
Australia-EU Free Trade Agreement and bilateral trade links’.[122]
|
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with Polish
President Andrzej Duda
Image source: Auspic
|
|
21 August
|
Liberal Party leadership spill
Following ‘a week of
mounting pressure on [his] leadership over his handling of energy policy’,
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calls a Liberal Party leadership ballot.[123] He is
challenged by the Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton
(Lib., Dickson, Qld). Mr Turnbull wins the ballot with 48 votes to Mr
Dutton’s 35.[124]
Immediately after the
ballot Mr Dutton resigns from Cabinet.[125]
The Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (Lib., NSW) resigns from the ministry.[126] Mr
Turnbull also accepts the resignation from the ministry of Senator James McGrath
(Lib., Vic.), the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister.[127]
Other frontbenchers who
voted for Mr Dutton, including Michael Sukkar (Lib., Deakin, Vic.), Angus
Taylor (Lib., Hume, NSW) and
senators James McGrath
(Lib., Qld) and Zed Seselja
(Lib., ACT), also offer to resign, but the Prime Minister does not accept
their resignations.[128]
|
Peter Dutton
Image source: Auspic
|
|
21 August
|
Shadow Ministry changes
The Leader of the
Opposition, Bill Shorten, announces changes to the Shadow Ministry.[129] Linda Burney
(Barton, NSW) becomes Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services,
replacing Jenny Macklin
(Jagajaga, Vic.); Ed Husic
(Chifley, NSW) gains the additional role of Shadow Minister for Human
Services; Terri Butler
(Griffith, Qld) gains the role of Shadow Minister for Employment Services,
Workforce Participation and Future of Work; Senator Jenny McAllister (NSW) becomes Shadow Assistant Minister for
Families and Communities; and Senator Louise Pratt (WA)
becomes Shadow Assistant Minister for Universities.[130]
|
|
|
21 August
|
75 years of women in the Australian parliament
Parliament marks the
75th anniversary of the election of the first women to Australia’s
Parliament. On this day in 1943, Enid Lyons of the United Australia Party and
Dorothy Tangney of the Australian Labor Party were elected; Lyons to the
House of Representatives and Tangney to the Senate.[131]
In the House, the
Minister for Women, Kelly O’Dwyer (Lib., Higgins, Vic.), speaks about Enid
Lyons in a ministerial statement.[132]
In the Senate, Senator Louise Pratt (ALP, WA) speaks about Dorothy Tangney in
an adjournment speech.[133]
On 5 December the
Senate and House of Representatives Alcoves are officially renamed after
Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons, respectively, to commemorate the 75th
anniversary of their election to Parliament.[134]
|
Enid Lyons
Image source: Antoine Kershaw (National Library of Australia), via
Wikimedia Commons
Dorothy Tangney
Image source: Broothorn Studios (National Library of Australia),
via Wikimedia Commons
|
|
22 August
|
Leadership spill petition circulated
Supporters of Peter
Dutton circulate a petition among Liberal Party parliamentarians calling on
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to call a party room meeting, aiming to
trigger a second leadership spill.[135]
Mr Dutton faces
questions about his eligibility to sit in Parliament relating to his business
interests in childcare centres.[136]
|
|
|
23 August
|
More ministerial resignations
The Assistant Minister
for Science, Jobs and Innovation, Senator Zed Seselja
(Lib., ACT), and the Assistant Minister to the Treasurer, Michael Sukkar (Lib., Deakin, Vic.), resign from the ministry.[137]
The Minister for
Finance, Senator Mathias Cormann (Lib., WA), the Minister for Communications, Senator Mitch Fifield
(Lib., Vic.), and the Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Senator Michaelia Cash (Lib., WA) announce that they have withdrawn their support from
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and have resigned from Cabinet.[138]
The Attorney-General, Christian Porter (Lib., Pearce, WA), confirms that he has sought advice from the
Commonwealth Solicitor-General on Peter Dutton’s eligibility to sit in
parliament.[139]
A motion in the House of Representatives to refer the matter to the High Court sitting as
the Court of Disputed Returns is defeated.[140]
Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull adjourns Parliament at 11:35am, pre-empting Question Time.[141] Mr
Turnbull says that the Liberal party room needs to see the
Solicitor-General’s advice concerning Mr Dutton’s eligibility. He says he
will hold a party room meeting and move a spill motion if he receives a
letter signed by a majority of the Liberal party room.[142]
|
|
|
23 August
|
Senate inquiry into ‘au pair allegations’
The Senate refers allegations ‘concerning the inappropriate exercise of ministerial powers, with
respect to the visa status of au pairs, and related matters’ to the Legal and
Constitutional Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report.[143] The allegations
relate to two interventions by the then Minister for Immigration and Border
Protection, Peter Dutton.[144]
The committee report’s recommendations include that the Senate consider censuring Mr Dutton and that he
provide an explanation to the Senate.[145]
A motion of no confidence moved against Mr Dutton in the House of
Representatives on 20 September 2018 is defeated, 68 votes to 67.[146]
|
|
|
23 August
|
Senator Bartlett gives his last speech
Australian Greens
Senator Andrew Bartlett (Qld) gives his final speech
in the Senate, ahead of his resignation on 27 August. In his speech he states his intention to
contest the seat of Brisbane (Qld) at the next federal election.[147]
Senator Bartlett filled
the casual vacancy created by the resignation of Senator Larissa Waters in
November 2017. He previously served as an Australian Democrats senator from
1997 to 2007, including as party leader from 2002 to 2004.
|
Andrew Bartlett
Image source: Auspic
|
|
24 August
|
Scott Morrison becomes Prime Minister after second
leadership spill
Peter Dutton states
that he has received advice from the Commonwealth Solicitor-General ‘that in
his view I am capable of sitting as a Member of the House of
Representatives’.[148]
After a petition for a
second Liberal Party leadership spill gains sufficient signatures, Prime
Minister Malcolm Turnbull steps aside.[149]
A three-way leadership challenge ensues between Scott Morrison, Peter Dutton
and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Deputy Party Leader Julie Bishop
(Lib., Curtin, WA). Ms Bishop is eliminated in the first round. In the second
round, Mr Morrison receives 45 votes to Mr Dutton’s 40, and becomes
Australia’s new Prime Minister.[150]
|
Scott Morrison
Image source: Auspic
|
|
26 August
|
Julie Bishop resigns from the ministry
Following her
unsuccessful leadership bid Julie Bishop resigns from Cabinet.[151] She
says that she has not made a decision as to whether she will contest the next
election.[152]
Ms Bishop served as the
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party from 2007 to 2018, alongside Liberal Party
leaders Brendan Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott, and, again, Malcolm
Turnbull.
|
Julie Bishop
Image source: Auspic
|
|
26 August
|
Morrison ministry announced
Prime Minister Scott
Morrison announces
the composition of his first ministry. As part of the ministerial reshuffle, Barnaby Joyce is appointed Special Envoy for Drought Assistance and Recovery.
The Prime Minister
says:
This is a team on the
side of Australians; a team focussed on listening to Australians and engaging
on the issues that are important to them, and acting on my Government’s
priorities.[153]
|
The Morrison ministry
Image source: Auspic
|
|
31 August
|
Malcolm Turnbull announces his resignation
Former Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull resigns from Parliament, triggering a by-election in his
seat of Wentworth (NSW).[154]
The Speaker, Tony Smith, advises that he is considering possible dates for
the
by-election.
Mr Turnbull served as a
Member of the House of Representatives from 2004, as Minister for the
Environment and Water Resources and Minster for Communications, and as Prime
Minister from 2015 to 2018.
|
Malcolm Turnbull
Image source: Auspic
|
|
10 September
|
Larissa Waters returns to the Senate
Larissa Waters (AG, Qld) is sworn in as a senator, filling the casual vacancy
created by the resignation of Andrew Bartlett (AG).[155] In doing so
she becomes the first senator to return to the Senate after being
disqualified under section 44 of the Constitution for holding dual citizenship.[156]
Her return is also notable because she fills the Senate position originally
made vacant by her own disqualification.[157]
|
Larissa Waters
Image source: Auspic
|
|
10 September
|
Attorney-General’s intervention in Auditor‑General’s
report criticised
The Deputy Chair of the
Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, Julian Hill
(ALP, Bruce, Vic.), criticises the intervention of the Attorney-General, Christian Porter (Lib., Pearce, WA), in order to prevent the publication of parts of
the Auditor-General’s report No. 6 of 2018-19, Army’s
protected mobility vehicle—Light.
The report examined the Department of Defence’s procurement of the Hawkei
vehicle. Mr Hill says:
the Attorney-General
used a provision in the Auditor-General’s Act, which has never been used
before, and issued a certificate which gagged the Auditor-General, requiring
him to delete large slabs of the report.[158]
|
|
|
17 September
|
Speaker uses casting vote
The Speaker, Tony
Smith, uses his casting vote to oppose an Opposition amendment to the Customs Amendment (Comprehensive and Progressive
Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation) Bill 2018.[159]
He says:
... House of
Representatives Practice outlines the principles that have been used
in the exercise of the casting vote, one of which is that a casting vote on
an amendment should leave a bill in its existing form. This principle has
seen the casting vote used against amendments; therefore I cast my vote with
the noes.[160]
Previously, Mr Smith
had indicated that he would not use his casting vote to give the government a
majority in a vote on legislation where the government was unable to command
a majority on the floor of the House of Representatives.[161]
Under the Constitution
the Speaker may only vote in a division of the House in which the numbers
are equal, in which case he or she has a casting vote.[162] One
principle handed down from the United Kingdom’s House of Commons is that a
Speaker’s casting vote on an amendment to a bill should leave the bill in its
existing form.[163]
|
|
|
16 October
|
Bill passes all stages in a single day
Unusually, in the House
of Representatives a bill is introduced and passes all stages in one
sitting.[164] The bill,
the Treasury Laws Amendment (Lower Taxes for Small and
Medium Businesses) Bill 2018,
brings forward a reduction of the corporate tax rate for small and medium
businesses.[165]
|
|
|
15–16 October
|
‘It’s okay to be white’ motion
On 15 October 2018,
Government senators vote for the following motion,
put forward by Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party:
That the Senate
acknowledges:
(a) the deplorable rise of anti-white racism and attacks
on Western civilisation; and
(b) that it is okay to be white.[166]
The motion is voted down by 31 votes to 28.
The motion is criticised by
the Australian Labor Party, the Australian Greens and Senators Derryn Hinch
(DHJP, Vic.) and Tim Storer (Ind., SA), with Senator Richard Di Natale (AG,
Vic.) noting that the slogan ‘it’s okay to be white’ has ‘a long history
in the white supremacist movement’.[167]
The following day the
Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Mathias Cormann (Lib., WA), advises the Senate that the government had intended to oppose the motion, but supported
it as ‘a result of administrative failure’.[168] He seeks
leave for another vote on the motion to replace that of 15 October.[169] The
motion is voted on a second time—with Government senators voting against
it—and is defeated.[170]
|
Pauline Hanson speaks to the motion
Image source: ParlView
|
|
16 October
|
Allegations of political interference in the ABC
The Senate refers allegations of political interference in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) to
the Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry and
report.[171]
The committee’s report, tabled on 1 April 2019, supported the Minister for
Communications, Mitch Fifield’s 15 October 2018 statement that ‘all
these claims are without basis’.[172]
|
|
|
16-17 October
|
Referrals to the Senate Privileges Committee
On 16 October the
Senate refers to the Senate Standing Committee of
Privileges (Privileges Committee)
for inquiry and report the disposition of material over which Senator Louise Pratt
(ALP, WA) has made a claim of privilege.[173]
The material in question was seized by the Australian Federal Police in the
execution of search warrants on 11 October 2018 on the office of an
Australian Border Force employee.[174]
The Privileges Committee’s report, dated 26 November 2018, recommends that
the Senate adopt its findings that the claim of privilege be upheld.[175]
The following day the
Senate refers to the Privileges Committee allegations made by Senator Brian Burston against
Senator Pauline Hanson (PHON, Qld).[176]
The allegations involve ‘possible improper interference with a Senator in the
free performance of his duties’.[177]
The Committee’s report of 2 April 2019 concludes that the actions in
question ‘were party matters and therefore do not amount to interference with
Senator Burston’s duties as a senator.’[178]
|
|
|
17 October
|
The House pays tribute to Ian Kiernan
A condolence motion in the House pays tribute to Ian Kiernan, the founder of Clean Up Australia Day, who died on 16 October 2018.[179] Clean Up
Australia Day began in 1989 as Clean Up Sydney Harbour Day.[180] It later
developed into a global movement, Clean
Up the World, which was launched in
1993.
|
|
|
18 October
|
Private member asked a question without notice
The Shadow Minister for
Agriculture, Joel Fitzgibbon (ALP, Hunter, NSW), asks a question without notice of a private member (and former minister), Barnaby Joyce.[181]
The question concerns the status of a motion on the Notice Paper. The
Speaker, Tony Smith, clarifies that the question is in order, given that
standing order 99 states that ‘questions must relate to a bill, motion, or other
business’.[182]
|
|
|
20 October
|
Wentworth by-election
A by-election is held
in the seat of Wentworth (NSW) to fill the vacancy created by the resignation
of former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. The seat is won by Independent candidate Kerryn Phelps.
She is sworn in on 26 November 2018 and gives her first speech
on the same day. In her speech, Dr Phelps says ‘it is a great honour for me
know that I am the first woman of the Jewish faith to be elected to the Australian
parliament’.[183]
|
Kerryn Phelps
Image source: Auspic
|
|
22 October
|
National apology to victims of and survivors of
institutional child sexual abuse
The Prime Minister,
Scott Morrison, delivers the national apology to the victims and survivors of
institutional child sexual abuse for the crimes exposed by the Royal
Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. In his speech,
he says:
... today Australia
confronts a trauma, an abomination, hiding in plain sight for far too long.
Today we confront a question too horrible to ask, let alone answer: why
weren't the children of our nation loved, nurtured and protected? ...
Today, as a nation,
we confront our failure to listen, to believe and to provide justice. And
again today we say sorry—to the children we failed, sorry; to the parents
whose trust was betrayed and who have struggled to pick up the pieces, sorry;
to the whistleblowers who we did not listen to, sorry; to the spouses,
partners, wives, husbands and children who have dealt with the consequences
of the abuse, cover-ups and obstruction, sorry; to generations past and
present, sorry.[184]
Approximately 800 survivors
from around Australia gather at Parliament House to hear the apology.[185]
|
Campaigner Chrissie
Foster and former Prime Minister Julia Gillard
Image source: Alex Ellinghausen, Sydney Morning Herald
|
|
24 October
|
Portrait of former Prime Minister Gillard unveiled
The official portrait
of former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, painted by artist Vincent Fantauzzo, is unveiled at Parliament House. Ms Gillard, Australia’s first
female Prime Minister, says at the unveiling that she hopes the portrait will
inspire young girls to aspire to the country’s highest office.[186]
|
Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard with her
portrait
Image source: Auspic
|
|
9–19 November
|
Centenary of the Armistice
Thousands of knitted,
crocheted and felted poppies are arranged on an outer wall of the Great Hall
(until 3 February 2019) and on the Parliament House Forecourt (until
19 November 2018) as part of a program
of events to commemorate the Centenary of the end of the First World War. The program also includes two art exhibitions,
‘Lest we forget’ and ‘From War’, the latter exhibition made up of works by
artists and poets who are also defence forces veterans.
|
Poppies on the APH Forecourt
Image source: Anna Hough
Image
source: Australian Parliament House (Department of Parliamentary Services), Twitter
|
|
25 November
|
Portrait of former Speaker Bishop unveiled
A portrait of former
Speaker of the House of Representatives Bronwyn Bishop by artist Jiawei Shen is unveiled. Ms Bishop, who served as Speaker
from 2013 to 2015, remains Australia’s longest serving female parliamentarian,
having served in both the House and the Senate over a period of 28 years.[187]
|
Artist Jiawai Shen and former Speaker Bronwyn
Bishop unveil her portrait
Image source: Auspic
|
|
27 November
|
Prime Minister and Treasurer announce an April
Budget
The Prime Minister,
Scott Morrison, and the Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, announce that the Budget
will be handed down on 2 April 2019, and that ‘it will be a surplus budget’.[188]
|
|
|
27 November
|
Julia Banks quits the Liberal Party
Julia Banks
(Lib., Chisholm, Vic.) makes a personal statement in the House of Representatives in which she announces that she will
now be serving as an Independent representative.[189] Ms Banks had
previously announced that she would not be recontesting her seat of Chisholm
as a member of the Liberal Party.[190]
|
Julia Banks
Image source: Auspic
|
|
27 November
|
Senator suspended
The Senate passes a motion suspending the Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Richard Di Natale (Vic.).[191]
The suspension comes after Senator Di Natale refuses to withdraw comments
concerning Senator Barry O’Sullivan (NP, Qld), which were prompted by comments made by Senator
O’Sullivan about Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.[192]
Following the
suspension, the President of the Senate, Scott Ryan, notes that the relevant
standing order has not been used for over fifteen years.[193]
|
Richard Di Natale
Image source: Auspic
|
|
3 December
|
Visit by the Prime Minister of Tuvalu
The Senate and the
House of Representatives welcome a distinguished visitor, the Prime Minister
of Tuvalu, the Right Honourable Enele Sopoaga.[194] During his
visit Mr Sopoaga calls on Australia to take ‘a more progressive response to
climate change’.[195]
He warns that without urgent action on climate change, rising sea levels
could lead to Tuvalu being ‘totally destroy[ed]’.[196]
|
The Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Enele Sopoaga,
watches Senate Question Time
Image source: Department
of the Senate
|
|
4 December
|
The dress code in the House
Following an incident
the previous day in which ‘a journalist was asked to leave the press gallery
during question time as a result of her standard of dress’, the Speaker, Tony
Smith, makes a statement concerning the dress code in the House of Representatives.[197] He
states that:
the journalist in
question was attired in a way which would be reasonably considered as
professional business attire. She should, in hindsight, not have been asked
to leave.[198]
The journalist,
Patricia Karvelas of the ABC, was wearing a short-sleeved top and no jacket.[199]
|
Journalist Patricia
Karvelas wearing the outfit in question
Image source: Patricia Karvelas, Twitter
|
|
13 December
|
Commonwealth Integrity Commission
The Prime Minister,
Scott Morrison, and the
Attorney-General, Christian Porter, announce that the Government will
establish a new Commonwealth Integrity Commission.[200]
The new Commission ‘will take the lead on detecting and stamping out any
corrupt and criminal behaviour by Commonwealth employees’.[201] The public
consultation period for the proposed Commission closes on 1 February 2019.[202]
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13 December
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Release of review into religious freedom report
The Religious Freedom Review: Report of the Expert Panel (also known as the Ruddock Review after the Panel’s
Chair, former parliamentarian Philip Ruddock) is released, along with the Government response to the report. The report’s recommendations include that:
Those jurisdictions
that retain exceptions or exemptions in their anti-discrimination laws for
religious bodies with respect to race, disability, pregnancy or intersex
status should review them, having regard to community expectations.[203]
The Government Response to the review states that ‘the Government will
consult with the States and Territories’ on those recommendations relating to
anti-discrimination legislation.[204]
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16 December
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Prime Minister names next Governor-General
The Prime Minister,
Scott Morrison, announces that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has approved
his recommendation to appoint His Excellency General the Honourable David
Hurley AC DSC (Retd) as Australia’s next Governor-General.[205] General
Hurley is currently the Governor of New South Wales, and is expected to be
sworn in on 28 June 2019.[206]
Prior to his appointment as Governor of New South Wales, he served in the
Australian Army for 42 years, including as Chief of the Defence Force from
2011 to 2014.[207]
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General David Hurley
Image source: US State Department/Wikimedia Commons
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17 December
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Andrew Broad resigns from the ministry
Andrew Broad
(NP, Mallee, Vic.) resigns as Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister
following allegations of inappropriate conduct during official government
travel.[208]
The following day he announces that he will not contest the next election.[209]
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Andrew Broad
Image source: Auspic
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