As it happened: Scott Morrison labels Labor’s censure motion ‘political intimidation’; Nationals criticised over Voice to parliament opposition

• Former Liberal backbencher Bridget Archer made good on her promise to cross the floor in favour of the censure motion. Manager of opposition business Paul Fletcher described the motion on the ABC’s News 24 channel as a “political stunt”. Asked if Archer would face any blowback, he said she “didn’t do it lightly, but the key point is in our party it’s a longstanding tradition that members are free to cross the floor where they judge it necessary in the exercise of their own conscience”.

• Morrison described the motion as “entirely partisan” and said he acknowledged “that non-disclosure of arrangements has caused unintentional offence”. But he added that he did not apologise for “taking action ... in a national crisis in order to save lives and to save livelihoods”. He conceded it wasn’t necessary for him to take on the treasury and home affairs portfolios.
• Bell said in her report last week that Morrison’s appointment to the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Home Affairs “had little if any connection to the [COVID-19] pandemic”. “Rather, Mr Morrison was appointed to administer these departments to give himself the capacity to exercise particular statutory powers,” Bell said.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Morrison had confirmed today “he just doesn’t get it”. “I thought this morning that we would see some contrition – some. A semblance of contrition. We got none of that. We got hubris and we got arrogance and we got denial,” Albanese said.

• Albanese has told parliament that the US government should end its pursuit of WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange for publishing secret diplomatic cables more than a decade ago. Assange remains in a high-security London prison as he appeals against the British government’s approval in June of his extradition to the US to face charges relating to the cache of US cables he published in 2010.
• Albanese said that he didn’t “have sympathy for Mr Assange’s actions on a whole range of matters, but, having said that, you have to reach a point, whereby what is the point of continuing this legal action, which could be caught up now for many years, into the future”.

• Each cigarette sold in Australia would be printed with messages such as “smoking kills” or manufactured in ugly colours under a federal government package to combat the waning impact of plain packaging laws with the biggest nicotine reforms in a decade. Health Minister Mark Butler has promised to “reignite the fight” against nicotine and tobacco as part of his public health agenda.
• A federal corruption watchdog is set to be established by the middle of next year after the bill setting up the National Anti-Corruption Commission passed both houses of parliament. Albanese and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement that the government had started the search for the watchdog’s first commissioner “through a merit-based, transparent and robust recruitment process”.

This is Michaela Whitbourn signing off on the blog for today. Broede Carmody will be back with you tomorrow morning.

“I hope you have been duped and it’s not the 30 pieces of silver,” Reynolds said of Pocock’s decision, referring to Judas’s betrayal of Jesus for money.

“This will be your legacy in this place. You have decided you are in a terribly important position in the balance of power as a new senator and you have used it.”

She issued a plea for Pocock to do an about-face after striking a deal with the government over the Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill on Saturday night.

“It’s not too late to say ‘I was wrong’,” Reynolds said.