We all had a kid in our class at school who would put assignments off until the last minute, then stress and scramble to hand up something passable on time.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The kid might have skated through unscathed when the assignments were easy.
Not so much when they weren't.
In the dying days of the 46th Federal Parliament, the Morrison government is this student and the religious discrimination bill its far-from-straightforward task.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison had three years to deliver on his promise to shield people of faith from discrimination.
A complex and sensitive task, no doubt, but one which should have been achievable given the bi-partisan support for the principle of allowing Australians to practice to their religion.
But with parliament's upper house to sit just a few more times before a likely May election, Mr Morrison's assignment remains not only unfinished but in a precarious position.
Yes, the coronavirus pandemic has swamped the past two years and debating religious freedoms might not have been the highest priority.
READ MORE
But it could have been dealt earlier. Government assistant minister Amanda Stoker conceded as much on Thursday morning.
That it wasn't has created problems for all sides.
It's worth pausing here to recap where things stand following a marathon overnight sitting in the House of Representatives.
The government's bill passed the lower house in the early hours of Thursday morning with Labor's support.
But Mr Morrison lost on another front, with five backbenchers - Trent Zimmerman, Bridget Archer, Katie Allen, Dave Sharma and Fiona Martin - crossing the floor to back amendments which would protect transgender students from discrimination at faith-based schools.
Labor had agreed to wave through the government's bill in the lower house if its amendments - which included effectively scrapping the contentious statement of belief clause - were defeated, as they were.
But it will push again in the Senate, raising the prospect of a deadlock which mightn't be broken unless one side blinks.
The mess - and that is an appropriate characterisation of the state of this bill - suits no one.
Mr Morrison now runs the very real risk of breaking one election promise as he fights desperately to regain credibility before facing Australian voters again later this year.
This debate is no fun for Labor either.
Some Labor MPs - like Alicia Payne - backed the unamended religious discrimination bill through gritted teeth, knowing their constituents didn't want them to vote for it.
Their email inboxes would be filling up with messages questioning how their "progressive" local member could back a bill which many fear will open the door to discrimination against marginalised groups, including LGBTIQ people and people with a disability.
But this is the price Labor is paying for trying to avoid exposing itself ahead of the election, where it is desperate to regain the trust of religious voters who have migrated to the Coalition.
But whatever unease, angst or pain is being felt inside Parliament House, it wouldn't compare to that being felt by the marginalised people - in particular transgender youth - who've been subjected to the polarised and at times vitriolic debate which has played out this week.
It won't end on Thursday, as the Coalition mulls whether to fight to retain the right for religious schools to discriminate against transgender students.
In her speech on Wednesday night, Ms Payne said the trans youth in Australia deserved so much better from their Parliament.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram