Live: Crossbenchers back call for MPs to sign civility pledge

Read the original at ABC News (AU) ↗
Cite

Gould, C. (2026, October 25). Live: Crossbenchers back call for MPs to sign civility pledge. ABC News (AU). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-26/federal-politics-live-blog-october-26/107307606

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

ABC News (AU) · collected 2026-10-25 · by Courtney Gould

Quick Summary

Federal MPs have returned to parliament in Canberra for a new sitting week following an attack on independent MP Helen Haines. Security has been heightened as crossbenchers, including Kate Chaney, support the call for other members to sign a civility pledge that Haines initiated two months ago. The pledge commits MPs to act with honesty, respect, and compassion, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expected to lead tributes in honor of Haines during Question Time.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-25, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

As of October 25, 2026, federal MPs in Canberra are being urged to sign a civility pledge following an attack on independent MP Helen Haines outside her Wangaratta office. The Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett linked the rise in violent threats and abuse against politicians directly to inflamed rhetoric during a Sunday appearance on ABC’s Insiders program. Independent MP Kate Chaney has announced she will join Haines by signing the pledge, which emphasizes honesty, respect, and compassion. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to introduce a motion supporting this initiative when parliament reconvenes in Canberra. However, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson criticized those who blame her party's cartoons for contributing to a hostile political environment.

Written for “MPs Civility Pledge Controversy” on 2026-10-25, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 106408 · logged 2026-10-25

Story

📰 MPs Civility Pledge Controversy
Politics · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 2% hedged 1 of 41 📰 publisher trust 61
“Both articles discuss federal MPs being urged to sign a civility pledge, referencing Helen Haines and occurring on the return of parliament.”
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 14% hedged 7 of 50 📰 publisher trust 68
“While both articles discuss the civility pledge and mention Helen Haines, they describe different stages or aspects of the broader initiative rather than the exact same incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
ABC News (AU)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (AU) · 3934 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Courtney Gould
16 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to move a motion in the House of Representatives that would set aside much of the day for MPs to offer messages of support.
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🔮 "But we want to make it clear that we've been careful with public money, particularly the growth in public money, and that will continue if we're re-elected next March."
🔮 Anthony Albanese couldn't have picked a better time to drop the metaphorical bomb that a rogue artificial intelligence agent breached an Australian government system.
🔮 "The idea, as some have argued, that AI will create perfection is something that I think is very misdirected," he says.
🔮 A plan for Australians to use their superannuation to make it easier to secure a home loan is set to be floated by Shadow Housing Minister Andrew Bragg.
2026-09-21 · assertive framing · Live: Bragg to reignite super fight with housing plan
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Also by Courtney Gould
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 16 articles by Courtney Gould →

Topics

ABC Canberra Crossbench Radio National Breakfast the House of Representatives

Subjects

Helen Haines PERSON · 4× Canberra GPE · 3× Haines PERSON · 3× ABC ORG · 2× Helen PERSON · 2× the House of Representatives ORG · 2× Chaney PERSON · 1× Crossbench ORG · 1× Kate Chaney PERSON · 1× Radio National Breakfast ORG · 1×

Narrative

Security increased as parliament returns to Canberra without Helen Haines Parliament returns today with one of its most respected members missing, as MPs reconvene in Canberra without Helen Haines. Security has been strengthened at Parliament House after a car struck the independent MP outside her Wangaratta electorate office in what police are treating as a deliberate attack.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-25
🔮 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to move a motion in the House of Representatives that would set aside much of the day for MPs to offer messages of support.
2026-10-25 · ABC News (AU)
Live: Crossbenchers back call for MPs to sign civility pledge · assertive framing

Claims (17 extracted, 0 hedged)

Crossbenchers back call for MPs to sign civility pledge As parliament returns without Helen Haines, federal MPs are encouraged to sign a civility pledge that the independent MP backed. asserted
MP → back → that
Submit a comment or question Live updates Crossbench MP to join Haines in signing civility pledge Independent MP Kate Chaney joined the ABC's Radio National Breakfast this morning. She was wearing an orange blazer with a cockatoo broach on her lapel as a gesture of support for independent MP Helen Haines. asserted
She → submit → Haines
Federal MPs are being asked to sign a civility pledge. asserted
MPs → ask → pledge
Haines was the first to sign it two months ago. asserted
Haines → sign → it
Chaney says she'll be adding her name to the list. asserted
she → say → list
I think there's something really symbolic about the fact that Helen was the only federal MP to have signed this, the first," she said. asserted
she → think → this
It just says: in my political life, I pledge to act with honesty, respect and compassion. asserted
I → say → honesty
And that feels to me like a simple and poignant way to honour the contribution Helen's made to the parliament and continue to try to embody those values that she personifies in the way that I do my work in parliament." asserted
I → feel → parliament
Security increased as parliament returns to Canberra without Helen Haines Parliament returns today with one of its most respected members missing, as MPs reconvene in Canberra without Helen Haines. Security has been strengthened at Parliament House after a car struck the independent MP outside her Wangaratta electorate office in what police are treating as a deliberate attack. asserted
police → increase → attack
The 65-year-old mother of three, admired across the political divide for her integrity, has had both legs amputated after suffering severe injuries to her lower body. asserted
legs → admire → body
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to move a motion in the House of Representatives that would set aside much of the day for MPs to offer messages of support. asserted
MPs → expect → support
Haines's seat will be empty at Question Time, with fellow crossbenchers pledging to carry forward her leadership example as parliament grapples with ways to approach security in their respective communities. asserted
parliament → pledge → communities
I'm Courtney Gould from the ABC's Parliament House team, here to guide you through the day. asserted
I → guide → day
MPs have returned to Canberra for another sitting week. asserted
MPs → return → week
Things will look a little different today in the lower house as the prime minister is expected to move a motion in the House of Representatives that would set aside much of the day for MPs to offer messages of support. asserted
MPs → look → support
Meanwhile, bureaucrats and senators are lining up for another round of budget estimates. asserted
bureaucrats → line → estimates
Let's get blogging. asserted
's → let → ?
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