The Morrison Government may abandon or delay plans to table legislation in the Senate to establish a federal anti-corruption commission. The government had been hoping that the Senate would send the bill to a committee that might not report back until 2022, which may not leave enough time for Parliament to debate the bill before the federal election.
However, with at least two Coalition senators – Queenslander Gerard Rennick and South Australian Alex Antic – threatening to withhold their votes over vaccine mandates, this could allow Labor, Greens and independent senators to amend the legislation rather than send it to a committee.
Although the government would have the numbers to block the amended legislation in the House of Representatives, it is conscious of the possibility of embarrassment in the Senate.
