What we learned; Monday 27 March
We’re going to wrap up the live blog now. Here’s what made the news today:
The Albanese government’s signature climate bill targeting big polluters is a step closer to passing after a deal was struck with the Greens, including an absolute cap on emissions.
The former Greens leader, Bob Brown, said Labor’s rejection of the Greens’ push for no new coal and gas as part of those negotiations was “a colossal mistake”.
The Victorian Liberal leader, John Pesutto, buckled to pressure and withdrawn his bid to expel controversial MP Moira Deeming from the party room.
Whistleblower Richard Boyle will face a trial and potential prison term after judge Liesl Kudelka found his actions were not immune to prosecution under the Public Interest Disclosure Act.
There’s been more fallout from the NSW election. The cost-of-living crisis in western Sydney and a loss of trust in government drove voters in the region away from the Coalition, experts say.
Australian sport is facing a “$2bn black hole” in investment over the next decade that sets the nation up for failure at upcoming major international events, according to Matt Carroll, CEO of the Australian Olympic Committee.
Amy Remeikis will be back with you early tomorrow morning. Until then, have a great evening.
Updated
‘Extraordinary stuff’: Labor MP claims Deeming contradicted Pessuto in tweet
The Labor MP Josh Burns is highlighting a tweet from Moira Deeming that appears to contradict the Victorian Liberal leader, John Pessuto’s statements about her earlier today.
Pessuto buckled to pressure earlier today and withdrew his bid to expel Deeming from the party room. Instead, after a two-hour meeting, the Liberal party room on Monday unanimously voted to suspend the upper house MP for nine months, as well as strip her of the position of upper house whip after she belatedly condemned anti-transgender activists.
Pessuto said he had proposed the new outcome after receiving “important concessions” from Deeming at 6.30am on Monday that included a condemnation of comments made by Kellie-Jay Keen and the rally’s organiser, Angie Jones:
Whilst it took a few days, Moira actually provided the condemnation I’d been seeking all along and that provided an opportunity during today’s meeting for me to propose a slightly different outcome.
Pesutto said Deeming “specifically” condemned comments made by Keen and Jones that were contained in a 15-page dossier sent by the Liberal leadership to MPs last week.
On Twitter a short time ago, Deeming said she never condemned Keen and Jones.
Pretty extraordinary stuff. Liberal MP, Ms Deeming, is publicly contradicting @JohnPesutto.
— Josh Burns (@joshburnsmp) March 27, 2023
Clearly, Pessuto's authority is completely shattered and his position is untenable. #springst #auspol pic.twitter.com/pe6SJ1ue98
Updated
