Immigration minister Peter Dutton's controversial citizenship changes have been dumped by the Senate, in an embarrassing blow to the Turnbull government.
First announced in April, Dutton's proposed overhaul of the citizenship process planned to increase the waiting period for permanent residents to apply for citizenship from one year to four. It also included a tough English language test and a test on their commitment to Australia.
The laws sailed through the lower house in August but stalled in the Senate after the government failed to secure the numbers to pass the bill.
Labor, the Greens, the Nick Xenophon Team and Derryn Hinch planned to block the bill, and used an obscure procedural motion to put a clock on the government's timeline for negotiations.
If the bill wasn't passed by the Senate before close of business on Wednesday night, at 7:20pm, it will be struck from the notice paper for the term of this parliament.
The motion read:
"That, if by 18 October 2017 the government business order of the day relating to the consideration of the Australian Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Requirements for Australian Citizenship and Other Measures) Bill 2017 be discharged from the Notice Paper."
This is only the second time in 30 years the ruling government has lost control of the Senate notice paper. The last was in 1995 when former Greens senator Dee Margetts had a bill struck from Senate business.
This loss is a huge embarrassment for the immigration minister, who has spent the last year saying citizenship is a "privilege" that should be viewed as a "big prize".
The reforms were badged by Dutton as a necessity to enhance national security.
After a bill is removed from the Senate notice paper, the government has two options - win a motion to bring on a debate, or scrap the current bill and reintroduce it in a new form. Its nearly impossible for government to win a motion for debate, so Dutton has no choice but to go back to the drawing board and chop up his omnibus citizenship bill.
Greens immigration and citizenship senator Nick McKim said it was a huge win for multicultural Australia and families stuck in limbo waiting for citizenship.
It's over! The Senate has rejected Dutton's divisive Citizenship Bill. This is a huge win for multicultural Australia.
“People who are working, studying and raising families in Australia can now get on with their lives and make choices about their future, after they were so unfairly put on hold for months," McKim said.
McKim's office has spoken to families who have put their citizenship plans on hold, waiting to hear the outcome of the new rules.
“Peter Dutton tried to tear down multicultural Australia and remake it in his own hateful image," he said. "[Dutton] failed, because the people of Australia would not let him.”
Despite the bill not yet becoming law, prospective Australian citizenship applications made since April have been proceed under the the new rules.
McKim says Dutton now has an "obligation to ensure that citizenship applications are assessed under existing rules", after one year of permanent residency.