Parliament has been getting frosty as winter closes in – but Labor may make one more gamble before the break

It’s the last week of parliament before the winter break, and not a minute too soon; tensions have been running a little high lately. The lower house speaker, Milton Dick, has been yeeting MPs mere moments into question time and accused Angus Taylor of “demeaning” the parliament by calling Anthony Albanese a liar; Andrew Hastie claimed One Nation “has declared war on me, so they shall have war”; Labor has been goading the Coalition and its media “cheer squad” for opposing the budget; the Greens hate Labor’s NDIS bill ; and people in the Coalition seem to be mad at everyone, including themselves . That’s all to say: there’s a bit still left in store for this last week, and the drama isn’t likely to ease. First, the pomp and ceremony: Vanuatu’s prime minister, Jotham Napat, and his delegation will visit Parliament House on Monday to meet Albanese. Wednesday brings the annual Midwinter Ball, the black-tie highlight of the parliamentary social calendar. The off-record event’s traditionally light-hearted speeches from the prime minister and opposition leader have returned mixed recent results; Sussan Ley’s riotously funny address in 2025, joking about “negotiating with fundamentalists” in the Nationals, came after a few dour examples from Peter Dutton in previous years. But the last week before a big break is also traditionally a time for last-minute horse trading and long sitting hours . …