The Albanese government has been chipping away at its agenda since Monday, but with only a few more hours to go in the last sitting week of the year, Labor will have to go warp speed to tick off its remaining items.
Proposals like the social media ban for children under 16, clean energy incentives known as Future Made in Australia, and migration laws that would give the government powers to deport non-citizens are among the 36 bills that will be brought before the Senate on Thursday.
"How is it safe ... to go through 41 bills in a matter of about 12 hours," Jacqui Lambie has asked. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
Firebrand senator Jacqui Lambie lashed Labor for its "absolutely shameful" attempt to rush through "undercooked" bills.
She said the government had guillotined more legislation in three years - which means forcing votes - than the coalition had in its almost decade in power.
"How is it safe for employees in my office, to go through 41 bills in a matter of about 12 hours," she demanded.
"Bloody hypocritical. And what about the right to disconnect?
"It is dangerous to shove bills down our throats. It is dangerous to shove bills down Australian throats without us probably going through and actually having a good look at it, and putting it under the microscope."
One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts referenced French revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre, saying his guillotines would have needed sharpening due to the sheer number being used by Labor.
But manager of government business in the senate Katy Gallagher rejected Labor was trying to circumvent scrutiny or accountability.
"We just want to deal with them. Yes or no, that is the position that we are bringing," she said.
"At the end of the year, it is not abnormal for the Senate to have to deal with a large number of bills."
Discussions have continued giving rise to last-minute amendments and other negotiations have reached an impasse.
Senator Gallagher has said the government will go to other members of the Senate to get its legislation across the line.
That has become more difficult as the Senate suspended independent senator Lidia Thorpe on Wednesday night after she threw pieces of paper at Pauline Hanson over a racism row.
This means Senator Thorpe has been barred from the chamber and will be unable to vote on any legislation.
The Labor Government is trying to ram through 36 Bills through the Senate today. That amounts to around an average of 15 minutes of debate per Bill.— Senator Matt Canavan (@mattjcan) It includes the ban on social media for under 16s.The reason this is happening is because the Labor party scheduled no…November 27, 2024
Members of the Senate have also raised concerns that the compressed timeline will not allow bills to be properly considered, with Nationals senator Matt Canavan arguing that each piece of legislation would only receive 15 minutes of debate assuming the chamber sat for its usual nine-hour day.
"What other workplace gets to knock off in November and not back until February?" he wrote on X.
A federal election must be held by May 17, but if the government opts for an earlier contest, politicians may not return to Parliament House before Australians go to the polls.
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