Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan accused the government of being too “gutless” to hold a debate on its own bill.

Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan accused the government of being too “gutless” to hold a debate on its own bill.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The vote ended up being a verdict on the government’s treatment of the parliament. The teals were visibly frustrated. Some of the Greens could not even get to parliament in time for the hasty vote. And the overall message was that Labor wanted the laws passed when nobody was watching.

The dispute was angry at times but Employment Minister Tony Burke,the government leader in the house,ensured the vote was held about 10pm to minimise media coverage ofthe final passage of the law.

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The government tactics drew rebukes from independent MPs such as Zoe Daniel of Goldstein and Kylea Tink of North Sydney,the latter calling it a“complete perversion of our democracy” because it avoided genuine debate.

The main task for the House was to approve the bill in the form sent back from the Senate.

But the opposition spokesman on immigration,Dan Tehan,sought to move an amendment at the last minute. In an unusual disagreement,Burke said this could not be done but Speaker Milton Dick,a Queensland Labor MP,ruled in favour of the Coalition.

The crossbench sided with the Coalition to allow debate. Tink and Daniel voted against Labor on this. So did fellow independents Kate Chaney,Andrew Gee,Helen Haines,Dai Le,Rebekha Sharkie,Zali Steggall,Allegra Spender and Andrew Wilkie. The two Greens in the chamber,Elizabeth Watson-Brown and Stephen Bates,also voted against Labor on this point. Labor prevailed by 68 to 59 votes.

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Burke and the Speaker were at odds on whether an amendment could be moved,which led the Coalition’s manager in the chamber,Paul Fletcher,to suggest that Burke would have to move dissent in the Speaker – an incendiary option that would force Dick to quit.

When the Speaker allowed Tehan five minutes to speak on his amendment,Burke found another way to shut down the debate. He moved that the house should adjourn. The opposition leader,Peter Dutton,tried without success to argue the point. Dick put the question to a vote and Tehan had no chance to speak.

Even here,however,Labor did not prevail easily. Nine of the crossbenchers voted with the Coalition against the adjournment. They were Kate Chaney,Zoe Daniel,Andrew Gee,Helen Haines,Dai Le,Rebekha Sharkie,Allegra Spender,Kylea Tink and Andrew Wilkie. Labor won the night by 72 to 56 votes,however,with support from Steggall and the two Greens on the adjournment motion.

It was all over and the bill was made law without debate.

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The laws enable the government to go to the courts to seek to detain some of the people released from indefinite detention after the High Court decision on November 8 and the arrest of some of those people in recent days.

The law enables preventative detention orders,community safety supervision orders,the use of electronic monitoring devices like ankle bracelets and the imposition of curfews.

While Labor got its way,it lost credibility with some of the teal independents for silencing debate. What if Labor needs those teals one day? With a narrow majority now,Labor may have to seek power in a hung parliament after the next election.

And Labor did not look proud of its bill – certainly not proud enough to debate it on Thursday,when more of the media and the public would be watching. Governments that get their way on a big law usually want to hog the limelight and extend the speeches to parliament. Not this one. Deep down,people can see that this law is a reaction to a Coalition challenge,not a demand from Labor’s true believers.

The government has looked passive and defensive too often in the four weeks since the High Court decision on detainees. Even when it goes on the attack,as Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus did on Wednesday byrebuking a journalist in a press conference,it oversteps by getting angry.

No wonder Labor is eager to bring parliament to an end for the year. Some MPs look ready to run for the exits. They have passed their law. Now they want everyone to stop talking about it.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news,views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletterhere.

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