Religious discrimination revolt: historical data shows scale of rebellion

The Coalition’s religious discrimination bill may have passed the lower house but multiple Liberal MPs crossed the floor to support amendments to it. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

The Morrison government has faced one of the biggest parliamentary revolts in decades. Five Liberal MPs crossed the floor to pass Labor amendments to the government’s religious discrimination bill in the early hours of Thursday.

The last time any Australian government faced a revolt of this magnitude was when six Coalition senators crossed the floor in November 1982 to support a Labor bill to curtail the power of the Senate to bring down governments by blocking or threatening to block supply.