Time for me to wind things up. What happened?
- Cory Bernardi has quit the Liberal Party and is now sitting on the crossbench of the Senate;
- Senator Bernardi says the decision was difficult but necessary and has promised to work to restore people's faith in politics;
- his move has been strongly criticised by his former party colleagues who have accused Senator Bernardi of betraying the people who voted for him;
- Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has moved to axe one of the most generous politicians' perks - free travel for MPs after they leave politics;
- at least two members of the Coalition are giving him grief about it but the move will be seen as a no brainer by the public; and
- we're not at war with the United States!
My thanks, as always, to Andrew Meares and Alex Ellinghausen and to you for reading and commenting (yes, I saw all the comments referring to the PM as "Trumble").
You can follow me on Facebook.
Andrew, Alex and I will be back in the morning. Hope to see you then.
Let me gussy up a parcel of Bernardi stories for you before I call it a day.
Chief political reporter James Massola has the wrap on how it all played out.
Meanwhile, former One Nation senator Rod Culleton just can't keep away. He's been pottering about Parliament House today even popping into the public gallery of the Senate.
While he was in there he was informed by Senate President Stephen Parry that he will have to pay back his salary and super, unless the Commonwealth waves it.
Warren Entsch is in the other corner when it comes to the gold pass.
He says it's "annoying" and "disappointing" that the gold pass is being axed and makes the case that people went into politics with a particular salary package on offer and it is unfair to change it.
If the pass is to be scrapped Mr Entsch says it should be scrapped for everyone including former prime ministers.
(Not sure the tactic of a politician complaining about the loss of a perk has ever worked for anyone but, you know, horses for courses.)
Newly minted Health Minister Greg Hunt is speaking to Sky News.
He supports the abolition of the gold pass for former MPs.
Mr Hunt notes the change would apply to him and he does not mind losing the perk: "It should go, it's long overdue."
You can catch up on the story here.
Back to topOkay, a few things to catch up now that, fingers crossed, Hurricane Bernardi has passed.
We're not at war with the United States - hooray!
Politicians in Washington are still mopping up from that phone call last week. Democrats Eliot Engel, Jackie Speier and Ben Cardin have introduced motions into both houses of Congress today, to underscore support for the U.S.-Australia alliance.
Former Republican presidential candidate and Florida senator Marco Rubio has also joined support for the motion.
"With this measure, Congress will send a clear message to Australia, our close friend, partner, and ally: the United States stands with you no matter what," Representative Engel said.
The resolution reaffirms the ANZUS Treaty, Australia's support for the US after September 11, trade and military cooperation between the two countries.
Speaker Tony Smith gives MPs an update on the protests that took place at the end of November last year.
Mr Smith says ACT Policing has finished its investigation and has referred four people to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Mr Smith says there is a greater Australian Federal Police presence at Parliament House as a result of the protests but that he cannot prevent any protests from taking place without the introduction of much more "intrusive" screening procedures for people who want to watch question time.
And that's it for question time.
We've discussed this before, the tactic of asking a question that everyone knows is out of order but not caring but it's all about getting the smarty pants moment on television.
Today's example is Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek asking Mr Turnbull about Mr Abbott's comment that a prime minister's first job is to keep a party together.
"How's that going?" she asked, knowing full well Speaker Tony Smith would rule that Mr Turnbull did not have to answer.
I must admit, I do like a good sledge.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce accuses Mr Shorten of "fighting a battle for Annandale...in a suit last worn by Barry Gibb".
I, for one, support Mr Shorten's decision to wear a teal coloured suit.
It tries again.
Mr Turnbull can't resist asking Labor's climate change spokesman, Mark Butler, whether he has a "back up generator at home".
"I think he's got it hidden under a tarp in the garage," Mr Turnbull chortles.
"Maybe he's got a bicycle. Maybe he's become the political equivalent of a squirrel running around keeping the lights on in South Australia."
Cute.
Labor asks Mr Turnbull if he will reconsider an emissions trading scheme now that Senator Bernardi is no longer a member of the Liberal Party.
The Prime Minister's not falling for it: "We're not going to take energy policy lessons from the Labor Party."
Labor, meanwhile, wants to talk about jobs and the ones that have disappeared from the economy over the past few months.
More specifically it wants to get this question from Mr Shorten to Mr Turnbull on the evening news: "Why are you more worried about your own job and not theirs?"
Mr Turnbull takes a question from his own side about power prices.
It's the government's opening move for the year so expect to hear more, a lot more, on this theme.
Question time begins with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten asking Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull about what the government will do for victims of child sexual abuse.
Mr Turnbull refers to the compensation scheme the government has already announced.
Back to topBut first, a condolence motion for the people killed on Bourke Street, Melbourne, last month.
Both Mr Turnbull and Mr Shorten speak eloquently and moving of what happened. Politics holds up well on occasions such as these.
Let's just have a little break before question time - now only 15 minutes' away.
Senior government minister Christopher Pyne thinks Senator Bernardi should put his money where his mouth is. Remember both men are from South Australia:
If Bernardi really wants to restore faith in politics, he must resign and recontest as an Independent, otherwise it's all hot air.
— Christopher Pyne (@cpyne) February 7, 2017
He insists he "absolutely did not" have any intention of leaving the Liberal Party at the time of last year's election.
Senator Bernardi is asked if he betrayed the people who voted for him last year.
"Every single Liberal Party voter and those party members knew exactly what they were supporting," he says.
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