New record as Senate question time blows out into chaotic marathon over transparency fight

Labor government loses control of chamber and threatens to strip Coalition members from parliamentary committeesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIn chaotic Senate scenes, Labor has set a 125-year record by keeping question time running for more than three hours, after the government lost control of the chamber and threatened to strip Coalition members from parliamentary committees in a fight over transparency.Senator David Pocock led a push to dramatically extend question time and force ministers to answer more questions, with the Coalition, Greens and crossbench defying the government to force changes to long-held conventions and rules in the upper house. It was a rare move which Labor minister Murray Watt labelled a “dummy spit”. Continue reading...