The federal government’s revamped industrial relations legislation was only introduced into parliament on Monday – and yesterday the party room was told amendment were needed.

They were moved late yesterday, and this morning the government gagged debate on the bill.

“It’s a farce, it’s a shambles, and it just reinforces what we have said about this bill all along – that the government was more interested in briefing its advertisers than it was in briefing parliamentary counsel,” Labor deputy leader and IR spokesperson Julia Gillard says.

“When you pull a transparent political stunt it shows, and it’s showing now with the shambles that has become this bill.

“The bill was introduced on Monday night into this Parliament [and] the Government gave notice late yesterday that it wants to add two amendments to it.

“Why is the Government incapable of writing a piece of legislation and getting it right?”

The government has fired back, with Citizenship Minister Kevin Andrews saying it is important that there is no delay in passing the bill.

“The only thing that’s a shambles at the moment is the opposition’s industrial relations policy,” he told the House.

“The only thing that’s become clear over the last week is what a complete shambles it is. The opposition can’t work out where it stands… until it gets its orders from Greg Combet and the unions as to what its policy on industrial relations is.”

The opposition has moved several quorums during the morning to disrupt government business as punishment for the gag.

Meanwhile, Electrical Trades Union secretary Dean Mighell has fired back over the release of a tape recording of him speaking last November about screwing the bosses with “bullsh-t stunts”.

Mighell has told Melbourne radio this morning he received a tip off from a Canberra journalist about the tapes in Canberra last week. “That this was coming out and this is what the federal government planned to do and this has played out.”