Parliament roared back to life on Tuesday as Labor moved to redistribute question time in the House, cutting the Coalition’s allocation while boosting the crossbench.
Industrial relations minister Tony Burke introduced the motion, arguing the change was necessary while the Coalition remains split.
Burke used the moment to mock the opposition, drawing laughs as he pointed to the growing and fracturing crossbench.
“When the member for New England moved to the crossbench, it had not occurred to us that the entire National party was going to move to the crossbench with him,” Burke said.
“We now have the cross, the very cross and the apoplectic.”
Burke then escalated the attack, joking about potential defections from the opposition benches to One Nation.
“I see members of the crossbench nodding, but you might not want the ones you get,” he said.
The Coalition benches were noticeably thin during the exchange, with opposition MPs visibly unimpressed by the commentary.
Meanwhile in the Senate, independent senator Lidia Thorpe is set to push her motion on the alleged attempted bombing at the 26 January Invasion Day rally in Perth.
The full impact of the House changes is expected to become clear when question time begins with a full chamber.
