As Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the federal election on Thursday, Australians farewelled the 45th parliament and one of the most chaotic, and at times, strangest chapters in political history.
Here are some of the most memorable moments.
When Australia was embroiled in a dual citizenship crisis
It all started when a very avid lover of the Australian constitution from Perth sent then-Greens senator Scott Ludlam a note to say the politician may have been ineligible to be elected to parliament because he was also a Kiwi.
A funny old rule that meant Australians holding office weren’t allowed to hold citizenship from another country suddenly came into the spotlight, and rocked the entire establishment.
Mr Ludlam quit, sending a ripple through the parliament that inevitably saw more than a dozen senators and MPs step down or be kicked out by the High Court for being dual citizens.
As every parliamentarian rushed to check whether they were inadvertent citizens of another country - whether by birth, marriage or parental rights - Australia was debating whether the rule was outdated in a modern multicultural society.
But rules are rules - and this one still stands.
When Barnaby Joyce’s affair led to a ‘bonk ban’
Shortly after regaining his seat of New England in December 2017, it emerged Mr Joyce had been having an affair with a staff member who was now pregnant with his child.
The affair with Vikki Campion led to the breakdown of Mr Joyce’s more than decade long marriage, cost him his job as deputy prime minister and the Nationals leadership. It also led then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to institute a ‘bonk ban’ - preventing members of parliament from having relationships with staff members.
Malcolm Turnbull getting rolled over climate policy – again
In a case of history repeating itself, Australians watched on bemused as yet another prime minister was removed without their say.
Malcolm Turnbull lost the Liberal leadership in much the same way he did last time in 2009 - over climate policy. The saga left the Liberal Party reeling and fractured with Mr Turnbull accusing conservatives within his party of “trying to bring down the government” through an “insurgency”.
Liberal MP Julia Banks later quit the party, saying she’d been bullied by colleagues over the leadership spill vote. And some experienced Liberals later quit parliament altogether, including Christopher Pyne and Julie Bishop.
Australia had its fifth prime minister in five years in leadership spill victor Scott Morrison, who to this day faces taunting questions from Labor about why the leadership change even occurred.
When Scott Morrison brought a lump of coal into Question Time
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be scared,” the then-Treasurer taunted the opposition, brandishing a lacquered piece of coal at the despatch box.
“It won’t hurt you. It’s coal.”
It was an attempt to ridicule Labor’s calls for a transition away from fossil fuels but it also showed how members of the Coalition remained loyal to coal-fired power at a time when some energy retailers were even saying they’d be moving away from fossil fuels.
All the bizarre things One Nation did
When Pauline Hanson walked into the Senate chamber in a black burqa, two of her colleagues sitting behind her couldn’t contain their delight.
Brian Burston clapped and laughed, as did Malcolm Roberts. The far-right politician claimed she was making a point about security in the chamber, but the move was widely condemned as an attention-seeking stunt.
Senator Burston would later fall out with the party over unrelated reasons, leading to one of the most bizarre episodes in the halls of parliament: when he accused his former leader of coming on to him, then getting into a fist-fight with her chief of staff in parliament’s marble hall, before smearing blood on Senator Hanson’s office door.
But the strangest moment was left for his mea culpa, when he told the Senate: “Whilst I do not recall the incident of blood on the door, I now have come to the conclusion that it was myself and I sincerely apologise for that action.”
When Scott Morrison tried his hand at a Fatman Scoop song
Mr Morrison posted a video on social media of him at Question Time with colleagues behind him raising their hands in unison. It seemed fine until you heard the music dubbed over the vision: US rapper Fatman Scoop’s sexually charged Be Faithful.
The lyrics to the song glorify casual sex and include a slew of expletives. It was later taken down with Mr Morrison apologising for the gaffe.
The Australian federal election will be held on 18 May. Follow SBS News online, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with the latest.
