KEY POINTS
- 2023 is about to end, bringing to a close another year of federal politics.
- The Voice to Parliament was defeated in October, the first referendum in a generation.
- Indefinite detention was ruled unlawful, while a royal commission into robodebt found the scheme "crude and cruel".
This article contains references to suicide/self-harm.
The Albanese government is edging past the halfway point in its first term and, if its political stars align, we could even be looking at a federal election next year.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton ended the year clawing back some ground in the polls, but still trailing well behind the support he needs to grab the keys to the Lodge.
So what happened this year? There have been ugly debates, tragic deaths, and a Russian diplomat stuck in the Canberra freeze.
Here are 10 things you'll remember - or might have forgotten - from federal politics in 2023.
Voice to Parliament defeated
Australians voted in their first referendum in a generation, an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
A month out from the vote, the Coalition's Indigenous Australians spokesperson Jacinta Nampijinpa Price claimed colonisation had The statement drew applause from her Nationals colleagues.
Polls initially showed support for the Voice above 60 per cent, but as the year dragged on, the Voice seemed doomed.
Public sentiment swung heavily against it and on referendum day, every state and territory in Australia barring the ACT voted No. The national Yes vote was just below 40 per cent.
Reacting on the night, Indigenous academic and leader Marcia Langton and said Australian politics had long shown "contempt" for Aboriginal people.
Albanese attempted to salvage the reconciliation process by insisting the path towards equality for Indigenous people remained open.
"From tomorrow, we will continue to write the next chapter in that great Australian Story, and we will write it together, and reconciliation must be a part of that chapter," he said in a post-referendum speech.
But Dutton laid the blame squarely at Albanese's feet.
"People from all sides of this debate are rightly and understandably disappointed with the prime minister. He has held the pen of this definitive chapter in our nation's history," he said.
Indefinite detention ruling
The year ended with a landmark court ruling, meaning big ramifications for indefinite detention.
In November, the High Court and ordered the government to release any detainee with "no real prospect" of deportation.
That meant more than 140 people who had seemingly been mired in detention for good, including a small number who had committed serious offences, were freed.
The Coalition called for Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to resign. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
While the Coalition eventually backed the laws after they had been toughened, it went on the attack. Opposition leader Peter Dutton accused the government of failing to prepare for the ruling, demanding Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles resign.
Another suite of bills was passed, giving government extra powers to return the worst offenders behind bars, after the High Court in December.
Five detainees have been arrested for various offences after their release.
The Russian squatter
When you think of diplomacy, fine wine and high-end meetings come to mind.
It's normally not one guy in trackpants smoking a cigarette, as he shivers through gloomy Canberra winter.
But that was the bizarre spectacle we saw in June, as a lone Russian diplomat held out where Russia intended to build a new embassy, just a stone's throw from Parliament House.
But after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the government cancelled the agreement, arguing its proximity to the halls of power posed a national security risk.
A steady supply of food drivers kept him from going hungry, and he was usually only seen when he ducked out of his vestibule to smoke.
But the man - who became known as the Russian squatter - .
He was whisked away from the site by a driver without answering questions.
Royal commission: Robodebt 'crude and cruel'
A blistering royal commission into the illegal robodebt scheme , labelling the system "crude and cruel" and finding it had led to suicides.
The system, set up under the former Coalition government, used an automated assessment system to calculate an individual's debt, incorrectly issuing more than 400,000 debt notices.
The report accused a series of Coalition ministers of abusing their powers and failing to inform cabinet over how robodebt was operating, and continuing the scheme well after its "probable illegality and cruelty" became obvious.
It recommended civil and criminal charges be brought against some of the individuals involved, but their names were not published.
Key to its criticisms was former prime minister Scott Morrison, who, the commission said, had "failed to meet his ministerial responsibility" and "allowed cabinet to be misled" over the scheme when he was social services minister.
Morrison rejected the commission's findings against him, claiming he was and urging Labor to "move on" from the scandal.
SBS News does not suggest any former ministers involved in the scheme have been referred for criminal or civil charges.
Van quits Liberals after Thorpe allegation
Parliament was again marred by allegations of sexual misconduct.
Liberal senator David Van was midway through a speech urging politicians to focus on "setting the standard for all Australians" when independent Lidia Thorpe interrupted.
"I'm feeling really uncomfortable when a perpetrator is speaking about violence," Thorpe said.
Asked to withdraw the comment, she responded: "I can't."
"This person harassed me, sexually assaulted me, and the [then] prime minister [Scott Morrison] had to remove him from his office. And to have him talking about this today is an absolute disgrace on the whole party," she said.
Van immediately rejected the "disgusting" allegations in the chamber, before later releasing a statement describing them as "completely untrue".
Later that evening, former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker , an act she described as "unprofessional and uninvited".
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe levelled the allegations using parliamentary privilege. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
Van didn't quit parliament. He still sits on the crossbench, where he is now considered a key vote whenever the government needs to pass legislation.
He continues to deny Thorpe's allegations.
Paul Keating criticises AUKUS, journalists at the National Press Club
Paul Keating has never been one to hold his tongue.
No one was spared as the former prime minister , just days after Albanese joined his US and UK counterparts to unveil the next step in the AUKUS pact.
The deal was Labor's "worst international decision" since World War One and an attempt to return the party "to its former colonial master, Britain", he said.
Singled out were Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles, who he accused of allowing foreign policy to be run by the military.
"[And] running around the Pacific Islands with a lei around your neck handing out money, which is what Penny does, is not foreign policy, it's a consular task," he added.
Keating lashed Australia's "dopey" security agencies, before turning his attention to world leaders.
Former prime minister Paul Keating launched an blistering attack on AUKUS, journalists, and a host of Labor ministers. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
But some of his most pointed criticism was for the journalists in the room, who he accused of whipping up hysteria about China.
One was told to "drum [himself] out of journalism", while another was told her question was "so dumb it's hardly worth an answer".
Albanese makes historic trip to China
The prime minister became the first Australian leader to visit China since 2016, a major breakthrough in normalising relations.
Tensions between Canberra and Beijing escalated under the former Coalition government, seemingly prompted by its call for an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19.
China imposed a series of trade sanctions on Australian products during the pandemic, and refused to pick up the phone to Australian ministers.
Anthony Albanese made a historic trip to China. Source: Getty / Yan Yan/Xinhua
Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Trade Minister Don Farrell were also invited to China this year, before the big one: Albanese in November.
"Now the China-Australia relationship has embarked on the right path of improvement and development," Xi told the Australian delegation.
"I'm heartened to see that. A healthy and stable China relationship serves the common interests of our two countries and two peoples."
But there are still significant hurdles on the horizon: China angered by the AUKUS pact and Australia concerned about Beijing's increasingly aggressive posture in the Indo-Pacific.
Angry housing debate ends in deal
There was a vitriolic debate on housing, finally ending with a compromise deal.
Labor took the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) to the last election, promising to use the proceeds from a $10 billion investment fund to build 30,000 homes over five years.
Labor and the Greens struck a deal over housing. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
A months-long stand-off got ugly at times, including : "[Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather's] ego is more important than housing for women fleeing domestic violence and all the women at risk of homelessness. This man's ego matters more than women’s violence." She was forced to withdraw the comment.
The Greens didn't get everything they called for - they wanted Labor to - but they did extract an extra $1 billion on social housing this year. Labor had earlier announced a one-off $3 billion in additional funding, but denied that was the result of Greens pressure.
Battle in the skies
Labor's relationship with Qantas came under the microscope.
Qatar Airways applied to double the number of flights it dispatched to Australia, something it said would lower prices for the average Australian.
But Labor rejected the proposal in July, sparking claims it was too tightly connected to Qantas, one of Qatar Airways' major competitors.
Labor's relationship with Qantas came under scrutiny in 2023.
Qantas, already under pressure after in its history, did not release its communication with the government from the lead-up to July.
The company also urged Labor to stand firm over its decision, describing claims the Qatar deal would have generated $500 million in revenue as "overblown".
The government opted not to review its original decision.
In August, Albanese was forced to reject suggestions of nepotism after revelations , normally only reserved for MPs and their spouses.
Tragedy and retirements
Australia's longest-serving female senator left the building.
Liberal Marise Payne in September, bringing a 26-year stint in parliament to an end.
She served under three prime ministers in a host of frontbench roles, most notably as foreign minister during a time of deepening tension with Beijing.
Marise Payne, Australia's longest-serving female senator, retired this year. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins
In January, Liberal senator after a two-year battle with cancer at the age of 72. Colleagues and family members lauded Molan, who had served in Australia's armed forces, as an "incredible family man" and a patriot.
Parliament was rocked by another death towards the end of the year.
Albanese revealed the Labor family was "broken-hearted" in December, after , whose cancer returned just weeks before she entered parliament in 2019. Murphy was working until a week before her death.
"To attend a community event with Peta was to bask in her glow ... This country was a better nation for her contribution," Albanese said.
Former Labor leader Simon Crean, , also passed away in June .
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