People newly released from immigration detention, cost-of-living, and e-cigarette regulations will feature on the political agenda as federal parliament embarks on its last sitting fortnight of the year.
The Senate will sit from Monday to Thursday both weeks while the House of Representatives sits for four days from Monday the first week, and the final Thursday the second week.
Politicians are expected to continue their debates on indefinite immigrant detention after rushing through emergency laws in a bid to manage people, many being convicted criminals, released after a landmark High Court ruling.
Independent MP Kylea Tink will move to stop the government from indefinitely detaining non-citizens and ban them from holding children in immigration detention.
Ms. Tink’s proposed legislation was in the works before a High Court decision ruled indefinite immigration detention was illegal and forced the government to release more than 90 detainees.
The private member’s bill will cap immigration detention at 90 days, after which the detainee can apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in the absence of a decision by the minister.
The government’s expansion of the paid parental leave scheme of up to 26 weeks will be debated in the lower house this week.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth urged parliamentarians to back the change, saying the government would like to add superannuation on paid parental leave when the federal budget can afford it.
“The legislation before the House is the biggest expansion and paid parental leave since the scheme was first introduced,” she told Sky News on Sunday.
“Twenty-six weeks of paid parental leave is a very significant advancement.”
Ms. Rishworth said there wasn’t a timeframe on paying superannuation, as Labor sought to manage the budget as “responsibly as possible.”
The Coalition is expected to zero in on cost-of-living issues after Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock said the nation was grappling with “homegrown” inflation in a speech on Wednesday.
Opposition frontbencher Michaelia Cash said the Senate should sit for the full fortnight as there was still a significant amount of legislation to get through.
“I look forward to doing basically what the taxpayer pays me to do, to be in this place and to work,” she said.
“Shame on Labor for thinking that they can get away with cancelling a sitting week of the parliament.”
Further debate is also expected on a proposal to ban hate symbols including the Nazi swastika or an SS symbol.
The government will also move amendments on workplace reforms relating to service contractors.
The sitting period will fall during the United Nation’s 16-day campaign aimed at ending violence against women.
Two MPs - independent Zoe Daniel and Labor’s Sharon Claydon - will make separate pushes to address the issue and raise awareness on Monday.
Education Minister Jason Clare will introduce a bill aimed at reforming the Australian Research Council.
He said its independence has been undermined by politicians over the past decade.
In the upper house, politicians will discuss implementing tighter regulations on vapes and e-cigarettes to make them less palatable and alluring to non-smokers, and impose more advertising restrictions on the industry.
An amendment that could prevent Australians from using credit cards or digital currencies while gambling will be considered.
Meanwhile, the Murray Darling Basin bill will come under consideration, less than a week after thousands of country NSW residents took to the streets to protest water buybacks.
