What we learned; Tuesday 17 September
After a busy day in the Senate, we are winding down the blog for tonight. Here’s what made the news:
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has not ruled out a double dissolution election after the Coalition, Greens and crossbench delayed a vote on the help-to-buy housing bill, saying “wait and see” when asked about the possibility. The Greens have argued the delay will allow the Labor government to negotiate for more concessions on the bill, while the PM has claimed the delay is to allow the Greens to campaign on the issue.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, said the government has no plans to touch negative gearing.
Victoria’s opposition leader, John Pesutto, told former Liberal MP Moira Deeming that her attendance at a March 2023 rally that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis would be “toxic” for the state’s Liberal party, the federal court has heard.
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has warned against dismissing the Libertarians as a “flash in the pan” after the party’s success across the state in the council elections.
Tasmanian senator, Jacqui Lambie, has told the Senate she thinks the former human services department, Kathryn Campbell – who breached the code of conduct 13 times while overseeing the robodebt program – is a “disgrace” who got off “scot-free”.
Until tomorrow, enjoy your evening.
Updated
Albanese refuses to confirm further negotiations with Greens over housing bill
Albanese says the outcome today counts as a rejection by the Senate but the Senate will get the next couple of days, and he says he hopes the Greens will “get some common sense”. He won’t say whether there will be more negotiations over the bill, as the Greens want, and won’t say whether there will be a double dissolution coming as a result.
Updated
