Au-pairs, affairs and a bonking ban: Top 10 political moments of 2018

We kicked off the year with Malcolm Turnbull running the show in Canberra, with his right-hand man Barnaby Joyce by his side – but nothing stays the same for long in government, particularly when it comes to the top job.

In a year that gave us our sixth prime minister in 10 years, several resignations and a ban on bonking, it’s hard to pick just 10 moments out of what was truly a gobsmacking year in politics, but we’ll give it a red hot go anyway. 

Leadership spill

Without doubt, the most explosive political event to take place in Australia this year was the leadership spill that saw Malcolm Turnbull ousted from The Lodge and replaced by former Treasurer Scott Morrison.

The ex-Liberal leader was challenged in not one, but two partyroom spills at the end of August, with Morrison ultimately bagging the most votes and being selected as Turnbull’s successor on August 24. The initial move against Turnbull was made by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton who believed he had the numbers to topple Turnbull.

In his final speech outside Parliament House, Turnbull said that “Australians must be dumbstruck” by the events which led to his downfall as leader, describing the tumultuous week as a “determined insurgency to bring down my prime ministership”.

“Australians will be just dumbstruck and so appalled by the conduct of the last week,” he said. “I think many Australians will just be shaking their heads in disbelief at what’s been done.”

Barnaby Joyce and the bonking ban

In February all eyes were on then-Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce after The Daily Telegraph revealed he was expecting a child with his former staffer Vikki Campion, just two months after confirming he had split from his wife of 24 years Natalie in December 2017.

Following the Telegraph’s now infamous ‘Bundle of Joyce’ front cover which ran on February 7, Joyce came under immense pressure to step down as leader of the National Party and deputy prime minister. He announced his resignation on February 26, saying: “It’s absolutely important that there be a circuit breaker not only for the parliament but a circuit breaker for Vikki, for my unborn child, for my daughters and for Nat.”

In light of the scandal surrounding his deputy, then-Prime Minister Turnbull implemented a bonking ban in parliament, stating: “Ministers, regardless of whether they are married or single, must not engage in sexual relations with their staff. Doing so will constitute a breach of the standards.”

Despite Joyce suggesting that the paternity of the baby was a “grey area” in March, he listed Campion as his official partner that same month and baby Sebastian Curtis Scott Joyce was born in April, 2018. Seb made his television debut two months later when his parents appeared on Channel Seven’s Sunday Night program to discuss their affair and apologise for the hurt their actions caused. They bagged a hefty $150,000 pay cheque for the interview with presenter Alex Cullen, which they said would be put into a trust for their son to access when he is older. 

Read more: Barnaby Joyce quits as Nationals leaders and deputy prime minister.

Au pair scandal

Following his failed bid for the party leadership in August, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton was then forced to deny he had abused his ministerial powers to grant visitor visas to European au pairs.

Scandal surrounded Dutton after it was claimed he had intervened – at the behest of AFL boss Gillon McLachlan – to allow French au pair Alexandra Deuwel to enter the country, after she had her visa cancelled on arrival at Adelaide Airport by officials who deemed her in breach of her visa as she intended to work during her stay in the country.

Deuwel wasn’t the first nanny that Dutton had stepped in to help though as he previously came under fire in a similar case in March, after he granted a visa to a foreign au pair who had been detained at Brisbane Airport, claiming the move was in the “public interest”, despite it emerging that she had been intended to work for one of Dutton’s former police colleagues.

As a result of the outcry, Dutton’s offices were then raided by the Australian Federal Police in October.

Read more: ‘I’m a man of integrity’: Peter Dutton denies breaking rules in au pair case.

Pauline Hanson breaks down on TV

It was a tough blow for One Nation leader Pauline Hanson when Senator Brian Burston announced he was leaving the party and defecting to the newly relaunched Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party in June.

Hanson had to fight back tears on several occasions, with her voice breaking during an interview on Sky News’ The Bolt Report. The Queensland senator said that being stabbed in the back by Burston hurt deeply.

“It means so much for me what I’m trying to do and for him to turn around and do this to me Ben, it’s hard,” she told Ben Fordham, who was filling in for Bolt on the night. “But I’m going to keep going and I’m going to get good people in that parliament beside me because it means so much to me to help the people that need help, that feel like no one’s listening to them, they’re sick of politicians because they don’t do anything.”

Israeli embassy move

Our prime minister (the current one) made headlines across the world in October when he announced he was considering moving the Australian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and therefore recognising the holy city as Israel’s capital.

Despite fears the move could damage the peace process with Palestine, as ownership of the holy city has long been a highly controversial issue, Morrison said the current approach to try and establish a two-state solution had failed.

“We are committed a two-state solution and nothing has changed when it comes to the government’s position on this matter, but frankly, it hasn’t been going that well,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday, reports The Guardian. “Not a lot of progress has been made. And you don’t keep doing the same thing and expect different solutions.”

The potential shift in policy, which Morrison described as “sensible”, would mirror that carried out by President Trump in December last year which triggered violent protests in Gaza, leading to the deaths of 58 Palestinians at the hands of Israeli forces. 

Kerryn Phelps wins seat of Wentworth 

The Coalition were thrown into turmoil on October 20, after Liberal candidate Dave Sharma was defeated by independent candidate Dr Kerryn Phelps in the by-election for the seat of Wentworth. The seat came up for grabs when former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull retired from politics after he was ousted from the top job.

Phelps’ historic election meant the Coalition lost its majority in the Lower House, catapulting Scott Morrison’s government into a minority and leaving them with no choice but to depend on the support of crossbenchers to help them get legislation through the house.

Sarah Hanson-Young brands David Leyonhjelm a “creep”

In one of the most spectacular political spats of the year, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young stood up in the Senate and labelled fellow Senator David Leyonhjelm a “creep” over comments he made in session. The South Australian pollie told the chamber: “Earlier today, during the motion relating to violence against women, Senator Leyonhjelm yelled an offensive and sexist slur at me from across the chamber. After the vote on the motion was complete, I walked over to the senator and confronted him directly.

“I asked whether I had heard him correctly. He confirmed that he had yelled, ‘You should stop shagging men, Sarah.’ Shocked, I told him that he was a creep. His reply was to tell me to ‘f… off’. I informed the leader of the Greens, and he has raised it with both Senator Leyonhjelm and the President.

“I am disappointed that the senator has refused to apologise for this offensive and sexist slur, and I call on him to formally withdraw and apologise directly.”

Their bitter row dragged on for months, with both senators firing shots back and forth, concluding with Hanson-Young filing defamation charges against Leyonhjelm in the Federal Court at the beginning of August.

Fraser Anning’s ‘final solution’ speech

In October, Bob Katter held a press conference to announce the sacking of controversial Senator Fraser Anning. The decision came after Anning made references to a “final solution” during his maiden speech in the Upper House back in August. He said: “The final solution to the immigration problem, of course, is a popular vote.”

The speech received sizeable backlash after people linked his words to the Nazi plan to exterminate Jews in World War II. 

Immediately after the speech, party leader Katter stood by his man and defended his comments, describing the debut speech as “magnificent, solid gold”. However, Anning was later given the boot by Katter’s Australian Party after he reportedly refused to stop using language that singled out non-Europeans.

Announcing the “termination of his endorsement by the KAP”, Katter cited Senator Anning’s views on non-European migration as the cause for his dismissal, stating the decision was “best for him and the party”.

Read more: Katter’s Australian Party dumps Senator Fraser Anning over ‘racist’ views.

Emma Husar

Labor MP Emma Husar made headlines in August after claims were published by several news outlets, alleging inappropriate behaviour, bullying and misuse of taxpayer funds within her office. 

Husar denied the claims, which were said to have been made by several staffers, and an independent investigation found there was no basis to claims of bullying, harassment or lewd behaviour, however the review did find cause for further investigation into the allegations of the misuse of public entitlements.

Husar has since launched defamation suits against news website Buzzfeed. It was also revealed earlier this month that the Western Sydney MP is “considering her options” after NSW Labor preselected another candidate for her electorate of Lindsay.

Super Saturday by-elections

Voters headed to the polls in five constituencies across Australia on July 28, to elect representatives in a series of by-elections which were triggered following the resignation of five MPs, four of whom quit their posts as a result of the dual citizenship scandal in May.

Dubbed ‘Super Saturday’, the day was disastrous for the government as the Liberals lost out on all five seats, following the votes in Braddon, Longman, Fremantle, Perth and Mayo. Labor bagged four of the seats up for grabs, with the only exception being the South Australian constituency of Mayo which was won by Centre Alliance candidate Rebekha Sharkie.

What was your most memorable political moment of 2018? What would you like to see our pollies achieve next year?