• Australia: ALP trumps Government in first Lower House majority vote upset in more than 50 years.
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[QUOTE]The Turnbull government suffered an embarrassing setback just as MPs were preparing to fly home on Thursday afternoon, losing its first vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. Senior ministers including Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, Justice Minister Michael Keenan and Social Services Minister Christian Porter were absent from the chamber, allowing Labor to defeat an adjournment motion. [B] It is believed to be the first time a majority government has lost a vote on the floor of the House in more than 50 years.[/B] After succeeding in preventing the House from adjourning, Labor attempted to ram through a motion calling for a royal commission into the banking industry. The motion passed the Senate earlier on Thursday. By tradition, [House] Speaker Tony Smith was forced to use his casting vote to side with Labor and allow debate to continue - forcing MPs to remain in the chamber and enabling the opposition to keep up its push for a royal commission. Source: [URL]http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/shock-as-turnbull-government-loses-three-votes-on-floor-of-house-of-representatives-20160901-gr6qph.html[/URL][/QUOTE] Essentially: - Some LNP members of parliament thought they had the go ahead to have a day off work (apparently not the case according to Pyne) - ALP wants the Prime Minister to consider a royal commission into the banking industry, if passed this could go a long way - essentially forcing the hand at the risk of public backlash. - Motion was eventually adjourned.
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