Australia news LIVE: Historic censure motion passed against Scott Morrison; Dutton questions Labor over Voice to parliament

To NSW, and the Perrottet government has made good on its promise of a live site for Sydneysiders to watch the Socceroos in their next match in the FIFA World Cup.

Former captain Craig Foster led calls for a live site this morning, after scenes of crowds at a live site in Melbourne celebrating the Socceroos’ 1-0 win against Denmark left Sydneysiders feeling left out.

Premier Dominic Perrottet promised he would make it happen, and he came through with further details at a press conference this afternoon.

The Australian team has made it to the final 16 - the first time since 2006 for the men’s team - and will play Argentina on Sunday morning.

Perrottet said the government would set up a large screen at Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour from 5.30am, ahead of the match at 6am Sydney time, in an alcohol-free, free public event.

The government urged Darling Harbour retailers to open their doors early to welcome football fans travelling in to cheer on the national team.

Transport will be free Sydney-wide on Sunday from 4am to 12pm to help fans get to and from the live sites.

The Sydney Opera House sails will be lit up green and gold from 8pm Saturday night until dawn Sunday.

Liverpool City Council’s Mayor Ned Mannoun has also arranged for the big match to be broadcast live from the heart of the Liverpool CBD at Macquarie Mall. The screen will be activated from 5am.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has suggested the NSW, Victorian and federal governments front the cost for a pipeline from her state to ease national power prices.

New rules on coal and gas are set to be negotiated between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and state leaders next week, potentially affecting Queensland government-owned coal power revenue.

Palaszczuk has repeatedly lashed out at any plans to cap coal prices this week, warning the Albanese government on Tuesday to keep its “hands off our generators” without full compensation.

Speaking in state parliament, Palaszczuk expanded on limited comments made yesterday about a potential pipeline.

With “an abundance” of gas in Queensland and more to develop in the Bowen and Galilee ba

sins, she said the federal government - in conduction with NSW and Victoria - should consider the idea.

“If the issue is of supply for energy, for gas, to get to those southern states, there is a solution that I’m putting on the table that is readily available,” Palaszczuk said.

“And they will be able to pay for that pipeline ... and we would release that extra domestic gas — that is an option that is very, very conceivable.”

Before question time concluded, Government Services Minister Bill Shorten accused Liberal frontbencher Stuart Robert of pressuring public servants about allegations over his friendship with the joint heads of a consulting firm.

This masthead reported today that Synergy 360 claimed in leaked internal documents that Robert attended meetings to discuss potentially lucrative government projects after becoming a minister.

The files detail several meetings between Robert, as a minister, and Synergy 360, a firm whose shareholders are his close friends, consultant David Milo and political fundraiser John Margerison.

A new tranche of leaked files show that Robert kept in regular contact with Milo and Synergy 360, as well as its clients, after he was appointed assistant treasurer in August 2018 and then minister for the NDIS and government services on May 29, 2019.

Shorten told question time he had asked Commonwealth agencies a range of questions, including whether the former government services minister ever alerted departmental staff that he was meeting Synergy 360.

Robert has denied he was providing advice and defended his conduct on the basis that he was a backbencher meeting “stakeholders and constituents”.

Shorten told Robert in parliament that, “after an unfortunate development this morning, please come through my office if you have any request of the relevant agencies”.

“Do not do what you did this morning and inappropriately task and pressure public servants who are no longer your ministerial responsibility,” he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told parliament it was too late to declare a public holiday after the Socceroos’ win against Denmark this morning, but if they win the World Cup “that might be a different story”.

Praising Australia’s 1- 0 win against the Danes this morning, Albanese noted the calls around the country for a public holiday to be declared.

“I’m afraid that at this point in time, it was a bit late at 4am in the morning to call a public holiday, but I reckon if we win the World Cup, well, that might be a different story,” Albanese said.

Even after the upset victory against Denmark, betting agencies rate the odds of Australia winning as extremely low – on par with Senegal, but ahead of Ghana, Japan, Cameroon, South Korea and Costa Rica.

Australia plays Argentina on Sunday morning.

The Coalition says Labor is exposing the Voice referendum to a misinformation campaign by scrapping laws requiring voters to be posted a pamphlet that outlines the arguments for the Yes and No cases.

The Albanese government today introduced legislation to the lower house to modernise laws governing how the referendum will be conducted.

Among the proposed changes contained in the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022, is the ditching of a provision that requires households to receive an official pamphlet outlining the proposed change to the Constitution, comprising up to 2000 words each on the Yes and No cases.

Shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser said the proposed change would compromise the quality of public debate in the lead-up to the national vote and risked creating an avenue for misinformation and interference to circulate.

“This is not about whether you vote yes or no,” Leeser said. “This is about ensuring the government provides information so that Australians can make an informed choice.

“A successful referendum will only occur if the change is clearly explained, and there is transparency and detail.”

Shadow special minister of state Jane Hume said the scrapping of the pamphlet was worrying as misinformation had already played a role in Australian elections.

“But this is more than just an election, this is changing Australia’s governing document – it could not be more important,” she said.

Introducing the bill today, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Patrick Gorman said while the government had decided against publicly funding formal Yes and No campaigns, it would fund a civics education campaign, which would inform voters of the facts around the referendum.

“This information will provide voters with a good understanding of Australia’s Constitution, the referendum process and factual information about the referendum proposal,” Gorman said.

He said the pamphlet requirement was first introduced in 1912 and was an outdated mechanism for informing voters in a digital age.

“As the next referendum will be the first in the digital age, there was no need for taxpayers to pay for a pamphlet to be sent to households,” he said.

“Modern technology allows parliamentarians to express their views to voters directly and regularly through a wide range of sources, such as television, email, and social media that did not exist when the pamphlet was introduced in 1912.”

The bill will be referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, which will report in early 2023.

If you have ever dreamed of working in Antarctica, now is your chance.

The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) today opened recruitment for 150 positions, ranging from chefs and plumbers to aerodrome managers, at Australia’s Antarctic and sub-Antarctic stations for 2023-24.

The division is particularly keen for women to apply for expedition roles as the organisation aims to increase diversity at its remote outposts.

An external review of the culture at Australia’s Antarctic research stations, commissioned by the division and released in September, found a widespread culture of sexual harassment.

The division pledged to implement 42 of the report’s recommendations and said the organisation was working with specialists in culture and had already made improvements.

“A significant focus for the AAD at present is increasing diversity in our program,” AAD organisational psychologist and recruitment specialist Maree Riley told reporters.

“In particular, we’re very keen to have more applications from women this season, particularly across our trade roles.”

There are 32 different jobs on offer at Davis, Mawson and Casey research stations, and on Macquarie Island.

Riley said expeditioners would undertake four to six-month postings in summer and up to 12 months in winter.

AAP

Circling back to Victoria, the contest to lead the state’s Liberal Party after Saturday’s crushing election defeat has narrowed to two candidates after Polwarth MP Richard Riordan ruled himself out today.

Former shadow attorney-general John Pesutto was able to formally join the race to replace Matthew Guy as opposition leader when he reclaimed the inner Melbourne seat of Hawthorn yesterday, and will go up against shadow police minister and Berwick MP Brad Battin in a ballot next week.

Finance spokesman Ryan Smith pulled out of the leadership race yesterday and will also back Battin for the job.

Read the full story here.

Staying with question time, Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has accused Liberal senator Michaelia Cash of trying to delay the vote on the industrial relations bill in the upper house.

“There are 19 amendments to be debated in the Senate, 19 amendments that have been put forward,” Burke told question time.

“In nine hours, because of the behaviour principally of Senator Cash, how many amendments do you think the Senate’s got through? Zero. In nine hours. So you might want to do the maths on how likely they’re trying to delay this, how long they’ll try to keep this going.”

The opposition is against the changes in the Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill, which it claims will cause widespread strikes, and cripple businesses due to provisions expanding workers’ ability to undertake multi-employer bargaining.

The government has dismissed this as a “scare campaign” and says it is fulfilling an election promise to get wages moving.

The bill passed the lower house last month. The government has secured its passage in the Senate with the vote of independent crossbencher David Pocock.

“In nine hours of debate, those opposite are doing everything they can as if 10 years of delay wasn’t enough. They want to now delay every extra minute, every extra hour they possibly can,” Burke said.

I’m Caitlin Fitzsimmons, and I’m your host on the blog this afternoon. Angus Thompson is blogging question time live from Canberra.

Sean Turnell, the Australian economist recently released from political imprisonment in Myanmar, is visiting parliament with wife Dr Ha Vu.

He was given a standing ovation at the start of question time.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was “a great honour to have Professor Turnell here in the chamber today with his magnificent wife”.

“I had the pleasure of speaking with Sean when we both touched down in Bangkok a couple of weeks ago, indeed less than a couple of weeks ago, and as we entered the chamber here Sean said to me that two weeks ago he was in prison,” Albanese said.

An economic adviser to overthrown civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and an expert on the financial system of the South-East Asian nation, Turnell was arrested soon after the military seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021.

Turnell’s name was included on a list of prisoners granted amnesty by the regime that was announced on state television on Myanmar National Day, two weeks ago.

“What he endured in his 650 days of incarceration is something no human being should have to endure, and yet he has done it with grace and even with inhumane conditions with profound humanity, our relief and joy at your release is also tinged with no small amount of awe, awe and respect that your courage, optimism and resilience,” Albanese said.

“I want to thank Professor Turnell for being here today and for displaying the absolute best of the Australian spirit, the absolute best of the Australian spirit. And I thank all those across the political spectrum and across our community who all campaigned so strongly and so consistently to secure the release. You are a most welcome guest, as is your wife.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton congratulated government officials who had been involved in the fight for Turnell’s freedom.

“I want to say thank you to the prime minister, thank you to the former prime minister [Scott] Morrison, acknowledge the work of Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and her predecessor, Marise Payne.”

Question time is about to start in the House of Representatives.

Watch live below.