We saw a Government which does not care about the risks to the planet from climate change.
We saw a Government trampling on the Senate’s role of scrutinising legislation.
And eventually we saw a humiliating defeat for Tony Abbott as the Government’s bullying turned to debacle.
Labor Senators spent the week advocating our policy of moving from the fixed carbon price to an emissions trading scheme that will put a cap on Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The Coalition spent the week trying to repeal carbon pricing and leave Australia with no serious policy to tackle climate change.
This was the first sitting week of the new Senate where there are 33 Coalition Senators, 25 Labor Senators, 10 Greens and another eight cross benchers.
Here’s how the week unfolded – a tale of arrogance and incompetence.
Monday: The Government forced the Senate to start debating the repeal bills immediately, even though this breached Senate rules. After failing on its first attempt, the Government eventually persuaded enough cross benchers to suspend standing orders and bring on debate immediately.
Tuesday: During second reading debate on the bills Labor made it clear we would move amendments seeking to move to an emissions trading scheme.
Wednesday: The media was briefed that the Government would force the bills through the Senate by lunchtime, paving the way for a triumphant press conference by Tony Abbott. The Government tried to impose a “guillotine,” cutting debate short. But it lost by one vote when three cross benchers joined Labor to insist on a proper debate.
Thursday: The Government finally secured a deal with the cross benchers to impose the guillotine, giving the Senate less than two hours to consider amendments before a vote. But the deal unravelled – Clive Palmer accused the Government of double-crossing the Palmer United Party on its amendments. When the Government’s self-imposed guillotine fell at 11.50 am, PUP switched sides and voted with Labor to defeat the repeal bills.
So where to next?
The Government will try to repair its deal with PUP. It is now claiming that it will be able to force the repeal bills through both houses of Parliament next week.
For our part, Labor will continue fighting in Parliament for responsible action to tackle climate change.