Mr Turnbull, who is looking to call a double dissolution election on May 11 for July 2, lifted the temperature on Friday with a simple ultimatum.

"The only reason to go to a double dissolution is to resolve a deadlock," he said.

"Now what I'm saying to the senators and particularly to the crossbenchers and indeed to the Labor Party and the Greens, vote for those bills.

"They vote for those bills then … we wouldn't even be talking about the possibility of a double dissolution. But it's, look it is clearly an option, and it is something that the government considers. The way to take that option away is for the senators to pass those bills."

Revolting threat

Mr Turnbull was referring to the already twice-blocked registered organisations bill, which would establish a Registered Organisations Commission to replace the Fair Work Commission as the enforcer and investigator of unions.

It has been blocked twice and is already a trigger for a double dissolution. The other is a bill to re-establish the powers of the Australian Building and Construction Commission.


The ABCC bill has been blocked once and has been pulled from debate for next week so the Senate can focus on the voting reform legislation. If the government decides on a double dissolution, which it must cal by May 11, it plans to bring the budget forward a week to May 3 and put the ABCC bill to the Senate one last time.

Among the crossbench, only Senators Day and Leyonhjelm support the bills, leaving the government four votes short. Senate committee report into the ABCC bill released late Friday showed no-one changing their position.

Queenslander Glenn Lazarus said he would not be blackmailed by such a "low life" and "revolting threat".

Despite facing the prospect of oblivion, Queenslander Glenn Lazarus said he would not be blackmailed by such a "low-life" and "revolting threat".

"I am happy to vote for the ABC Commission bill as long as Malcolm expands the bill to include corruption across all industries, including politicians, not just the union sector in the building industry," he said.

"The people of Queensland want corrupt bankers, politicians, government officials, business people and unionists jailed.

"I am of the view that Malcolm Turnbull's behaviour constitutes a form of corruption, in that he is trying to blackmail the Senate into voting a certain way by threatening them.

"What a low-life, revolting thing to do."


Senator Madigan said he would not be changing his mind on opposing the bills, Senator Muir could not be contacted, while Senator Lambie said: "I will act in Australia and Tasmania's interest and not self-interest after yet another Liberal attempt at political blackmail."

Mr Turnbull has been arguing privately that a double dissolution would be a good opportunity to clean out the Senate, a view backed Friday by assistant minister Wyatt Roy, who told the Nine Network that Australians were frustrated by the state of the Senate.

To call a double dissolution, the government needs as a trigger a bill that has been twice rejected by the Senate, three months apart.

Apart from the registered organisations bill, it has another trigger – a bill to abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation – but this will not be used as Mr Turnbull no longer supports the Abbott government policy. Mr Turnbull's appeal on Friday confirms this.

Senator Day said the government should defer debate on the Senate voting laws and bring on the ABCC bill next week.

"With their radical voting changes, there will only be Labor and the Greens in the Senate into the future," Senator Day said.

Labor leader Bill Shorten has anticipated an election called over the industrial relations bills and has already released policies promising stiff penalties, greater scrutiny and enforcement, and more power for courts to clean up union corruption.

Under Labor's policy, the Australian Security and Investments Commission, which already has coercive powers, would become the enforcer and regulator of unions in cases of serious breaches of the Registered Organisations Act. Fair Work Australia would continue as the regulator in terms of investigating minor compliance issues. It will be given an extra $4.5 million over four years to step up monitoring of the nation's 109 registered unions. ASIC and FWA would be able to share information.

