Tony Abbott 'determined to do better' after spill motion defeated – politics live

The debate has been adjourned.

I can now note very gently that there is no show without Punch.

Shorten ends thus.

Let us resolve to honour the memory of those lost to us on that December morning and those who survived by vowing not to change. Let us promise each other to always be a happy and confident people, a nation rejecting fear, rejecting fear, embracing diversity. A nation whose first instinct will always be optimism and compassion. Never suspicion nor prejudice.

An Australia that is stronger because it stands together, united not defeated, today, tomorrow and always.

Shorten notes the community response.

These people were the victims of a deranged act of violence aimed at dividing our country. And it failed. It failed because Australians will never lose their faith in a peaceful, multicultural democracy. Australians will never surrender to hatred, to fear, to intolerance. We will never reward the perpetrators of evil by abandoning our common humanity.

On that Monday evening, as night descended upon Martin Place, hundreds of thousands of Australians took to social media to do something quite extraordinary. Instead of venting messages of hate or succumbing to fear, under the hashtag #illridewithou, more than 150,000 people made a stand against prejudice. They rallied around the diversity which is at the core of our remarkable modern Australia.

And the next morning when the siege had ended, Sydneysiders emerged to Martin Place bearing flowers, not hatred.

The Labor leader Bill Shorten’s turn now.

All we can offer (survivors and the families of the victims) is Australia’s embrace. A promise to honour forever the memory of those lost to you and to all of us.

We will work with you, the government, because the security of our nation and safety of our people is above politics. When it comes to fighting terrorism, we are indeed in this together.

What we do know without question is that this was a crime deliberately aimed at the innocent. Everyday Australians were the target of terror.

The prime minister uses a chunk of the speech to amplify “Australian values”. There is a segue to Gallipoli, and he rounds out thus.

In April, some in this chamber will travel to Gallipoli to pay tribute to the courage and resourcefulness and determination and sacrifice of our forebears a century ago. But today, we need not look so far or travel so far to see resilience, courage and decency. We look to the gallery and we see modern Australia.

Greater love hath no man or woman than to lie down their life for their friend. We salute Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson. We salute everyone touched by the siege, touched by this atrocity and I commend the motion to the house.

Abbott, in continuation.

The best response to evil is good. The best response to terrorism is to live normal lives, because that shows that we might be threatened, but we will not be changed.

The Martin Place siege, I regret to say, was inspired by a death cult. That death cult now rampant in much of Syria and Iraq, which is a travesty of religion and governance and which should never be dignified with the term Islamic State.

The Martin Place siege was the act of terror that we hoped would never occur in this country. I want to assure the men and women in the gallery, I want to assure all Australians, that this government, as well as our state counterparts, are determined to learn from what happened at the Lindt cafe on that dreadful day.

Back to the other business of the day. The prime minister is addressing the chamber about the tragic events in Martin Place. Families of the victims are looking on from the galleries.

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Abbott:

Madam Speaker, 15 December last year was a testing day for our country. It was a testing day for the police and for the security and emergency services. It was a testing day for the people of Sydney, witnessing an atrocity unfold in a cafe known to many Sydneysiders in the utterly familiar surrounds of Martin Place. Above all, it was a testing day for the men and the women held in the Lindt cafe and for their families.

So Madam Speaker, today, we welcome to the chamber the men and women held in the Lindt cafe as well as the families of Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson. The thoughts and the prayers of 24 million Australians and many millions more around the world were with you on that terrible day. And I want to assure you, we are still with you.

We are still with you as you come to terms with that horrific experience. Every day must be a struggle for the Johnson and the Dawson families. We grieve with you, and we hope that you draw strength and comfort from the support of the people of our country.

No, I won’t sorry. My colleague Lenore Taylor has some intel I need to share quickly. Her calls indicate the prime minister has described these past few days as a near-death experience. According to her accounts – he’s put a precise timeframe on his leadership – he’s asked colleagues to give him six months to turn the ship around.

Let’s take a break from the absurdities and brain pops for a bit. I’ll take us to the house shortly for the statements on the Martin Place siege.

Luke Simpkins has engaged journalists in the corridor after his news-bending performance on Sky News.

I think this has been a good wake-up call. The prime minister has taken on board what our concerns have been and we look forward to that being implemented.