Divisive abortion bill debate drags on for Premier
A divisive bill to decriminalise abortion in NSW could drag on for days, having already exposed deep rifts in the Liberal Party which culminated in a ham-fisted leadership spill.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian stared down a leadership threat on Tuesday, after three MPs reneged on a plan to challenge her leadership over her handling of the bill.
But hopes the bill could pass on Tuesday night were quickly extinguished after the Legislative Council voted 33 to seven to rename the proposed laws the Abortion Law Reform Act 2019.
Labor's Penny Sharpe and Nationals MLC Trevor Khan, who both worked closely with independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich in the drafting the bill, supported the cosmetic change.
Greens MLCs Abigail Boyd and David Shoebridge were those who opposed the amendment, with Ms Boyd describing it as "unnecessary" and "made it bad faith".
Mr Shoebridge slammed the measure as one which made "no change to the substantive elements of the bill" and could result in "weeks and weeks of further delay in finally removing abortion from the Crimes Act".
The amendment - the first of 32 proposed in the upper house - means the bill will return to the Legislative Assembly for further debate, adding at least one extra day to the bill's passage.
Upper house MLCs were expected to debate the bill until midnight on Tuesday, with another long day scheduled for Wednesday.
Depending on the pace of the debate and the number of amendments passed, the bill could return to the lower house on Thursday.
Another amendment, proposed by Labor MLC Courtney Houssos, to delay the commencement of the bill from the date of Royal Assent to a date "appointed by proclamation" failed.
Ms Houssos argued the measure would allow for a period of transition and for surrounding policies and guidelines to be put in place.
Opposing the amendment, Ms Sharpe said it was "another delaying tactic to try and actually stop women from being able to make these decisions free from the threat of jail."
Liberal MPs Tania Davies, Matthew Mason-Cox and Lou Amato, who vehemently oppose the bill, abandoned their plans to move a spill motion against the Premier, claiming they had been assured of "further concessions" on the amendments.