Democracy at work:

Mal Brough’s legislative framework for the federal government’s Northern Territory intervention is passing through the Australian Parliament.

Three bills, more than 500 pages.

The bills arrived in the Senate last Wednesday after an accumulated six hours and 23 minutes of debate in the House of Representatives. In the Senate they were the subject of debate for two hours and two minutes. They returned yesterday for renewed debate: two hours and 38 minutes.

Eleven hours and three minutes. This is the way we make law.