Politics live: March 20, 2013 2:18pm: Question Time is focussing on the economy. No surprises there. The Opposition seeks information from the Government as to the size of the deficit and how long it might take to pay it back. Opposition leader Tony Abbott wants to know why the economy is in debt when the global financial crisis ended four years ago. Oh, it's over is it, asks the PM. That might come as a surprise to the people of Cyprus, Greece, Italy and the United States where things are still mighty rough. "We actually deal with the circumstances of the real world including the circumstances of the Australian economy," the PM says. 1:38pm: There's a lot of white noise around today. Static even. There's also an awful lot of governing going on. The Minister for Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten, is firmly in the governing camp. Earlier today he introduced new legislation to establish the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency. With asbestos related deaths not expected to peak until 2020, Mr Shorten said, a national agency with the powers to tackle illegal dumping and promote safe disposal is vital. 1:11pm: Meanwhile, it's the first International Happiness Day. I wonder what colour ribbon MPs will have on in Question Time to mark that? Shadow communications minister Malcolm Turnbull and chief government whip Joel Fitzgibbon chat during the debate on media reform in Parliament last night. 1:08pm: Greens leader Christine Milne has secured a deal with the government over media reform. "We don't want a scenario where Gina Rinehart can set up her own press council," Senator Milne says. Under the deal the West Australian press council will be grandfathered allowing, essentially, two press regulators to operate for a limited period of time. The Greens have also pushed for safeguards for regional news and current affairs content. Senator Milne had some stern words for independent MP Andrew Wilkie: "I'm calling on him not to allow Rupert Murdoch to run the agenda on media reform." Earlier this morning Mr Wilkie's fellow independent, Tony Windsor, said the changes had a 70 per cent change of passing. Senator Milne said she would rate the package's chances as higher than that. 12:33pm: You might recall The Sydney Morning Herald's political editor, Peter Hartcher, wrote a story yesterday that suggested the Minister for Foriegn Affairs, Bob Carr, and the Minister for Aged Care, Mark Butler, no longer had confidence in the leadership of the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. It caused quite a stir and led Senator Carr and Mr Butler to say they still supported Ms Gillard. The Age's national affairs editor, Tony Wright, has written a rather pithy piece about the "50 shades of grey" of truth in politics and in reporting. I recommend it as we swing into the lunch hour. 11:31am: So far the background to all of this has, of course, been leadership. Chief government whip and Rudd man, Joel Fitzgibbon, has told Fairfax Media's Tim Lester that: "I'm too honest in politics. But I wear that as a badge of honour. The newspapers are full of it so the public must conclude that something must be going on....It would be silly to tell people watching your program that there is nothing going on. Mr Fitzgibbon says "internally people are looking at the polls and they are expressing concern about the future of the government and indeed the party." But he ruled out any extraordinary meetings of caucus to discuss leadership saying "the prime minister continues to enjoy the support of the party room." "I think people prove themselves a little bit over excited speculating that there will be a change this week or indeed necessarily before the election," Mr Fitzgibbon says. Mr Fitzgibbon also said it was a "silly concept" to suggest the party could change leaders between budget day and the September election. I'll have the full video of that interview for you shortly. 11:17am: One of the pieces of legislation referred by Mr Pyne in our 9.54am post is the amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act which will give protection to people against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status. The Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, said the changes would build on the government's previous reforms which discriminate against same-sex couples and their children. However Mr Dreyfus would not commit to a timetable for the consolidation of five anti-discrimination acts that had been pursued by his predecessor, Nicola Roxon. "I'm not satisfied the bill.....passes the test of striking the right balance," Mr Dreyfus said. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus during a press conference at Parliament House Photo: Andrew Meares 11:05am: The leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, greets mining magnate Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest at a breakfast at Parliament House this morning. Mr Abbott was at a function to promote Mr Forrest GenerationOne initiative which works to find jobs for indigenous people. Andrew Forrest greets Opposition Leader Tony Abbott Photo: Alex Ellignhausen 10:00am: Which brings us back to Mr Pyne who is angry the government has just introduced 18 more bills into Parliament. He makes the point that it would "take hours and hours" just for ministers to make the introductory speeches and inevitably pushes debate on the media reform bills down the agenda. Mr Pyne wants Parliament to sit next week to debate the media reform package and is critical of the government's management of the parliamentary schedule. This is no way to run the country. It's well and truly time we had a stable government run by adults," Mr Pyne said. Manager of Opposition Business Christopher Pyne displays a list of eighteen new bills being introduced into the Parliament Photo: Andrew Meares 9:54am: The manager of Opposition business, Christopher Pyne, is about to hold a press conference about what happened in the House of Representatives last night. Before he starts talking let me walk you through what happened because it was a bit crazy. At 9.30pm Labor MP Kelvin Thomson under instruction from the manager of Government business, Anthony Albanese, got up to defer the adjournment debate which means the government wanted people to keep talking, presumably because they believed a deal with the independents was close. A division was called and everyone turned up. But as they arrived the Speaker, Anna Burke, withdrew the division. Even the PM looked confused as this photo shows. Prime Minister Julia Gillard pauses when entering the Chamber to vote on a division to continue debate on the media regulation bills Photo: Andrew Meares 9:17am: Independent MP Tony Windsor has good reason to look chipper. High profile NSW National Party MP Richard Torbay has been sacked as the party's federal candidate for Mr Windsor's seat of New England. It is understood the Nationals are concerned about links between Mr Torbay and the family of Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid. Mr Torbay's loss is possibly Queensland Senator Barnaby Joyce's gain. He is again considering running for the lower house. As Labor MP Ed Husic quipped this morning: "If Bruce Willis can make five Die Hard films Barnaby can make a come back." Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott during Question Time yesterday Photo: Andrew Meares 9:07am: Two down, four to go. It was a late night last night for MPs as Parliament deliberated over the media reform laws. The PM took the helm and is now one third of the way to securing her reform package amid signs a deal with the crossbenchers has been reached. Prime Minister Julia Gillard looks towards Leader of the House Anthony Albanese during debate on the media regulation bills late last night Photo: Andrew Meares