In Parliament, Mr Abbott likened the situation to the union-funded campaign against electricity privatisation before the last NSW election, and drew on the support for the agreement from an old political foe. Prime Minister Tony Abbott's statements that the mining industry can provide jobs and growth have not been borne out. Credit:Andrew Meares "This is what Professor, the honourable Bob Carr said yesterday, 'There will be more jobs and higher wages in Australia if the China free trade agreement goes ahead'," he quoted the former Labor state and federal politician as saying. "But still, Mr Speaker, the CFMEU is running ads and making robo calls claiming that the free trade agreement is giving Australian jobs to Chinese workers. This is a racist lie. The claim of the CFMEU is a racist lie. Now, Mr Speaker, we know that the Labor Party played the race card prior to the NSW election and now it's happening again." The opposition continues to probe the issue, claiming the agreement is less than water-tight on the obligation of Chinese firms to test the Australian labour market fully before opting to use its nationals for Australian projects.

In Parliament, Labor also continued to press the Prime Minister over allegations of bias in the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption following reports by Fairfax Media last week that Mr Heydon, was to speak at a Liberal Party function later this month. Illustration: Cathy Wilcox Mr Heydon will hear an application on Friday morning from counsel representing the ACTU seeking his disqualification on grounds of apprehended bias – a legal concept based on the idea that an ordinary person could apprehend from the evidence that a judge might not act in a fully independent way. The ruling on that is expected on Tuesday. Illustration: Ron Tandberg

While the argument over Mr Heydon's independence has dominated politics for days, the government has also suffered from a series of leaks from its cabinet in the wake of ill-feeling over the same-sex marriage debate, issues of perceived incompetence, and poor polling. Thursday saw the government's ostensibly secret talking points – instructions of how to frame arguments and defences on prickly issues – leaked to Fairfax Media. It was the third such serious leak this week, fuelling claims that Mr Abbott no longer commands the loyalty of some in his most inner sanctum – the cabinet. The talking points instruct ministers to claim the government and the cabinet is "functioning exceptionally well". Government insiders simply threw up their hands when asked about the ongoing leaks, suggesting all hope of maintaining internal cohesion had evaporated.

But Mr Abbott brushed the security breaches aside, choosing instead to direct his attacks at Labor in Parliament. Asked why there was "no mandatory" requirement in the trade agreement, he said: "I think the member that asked this question is channelling Billy Hughes and the other people from the white Australia policy." But the dig brought the witty retort from Labor's Ed Husic, who said: "No you're channelling Billy McMahon." Mr McMahon's brief and chaotic prime ministership is widely regarded as among the least effective in Australian history. Follow us on Twitter