Australia's parliament sits ahead of likely double dissolution election

Australia's parliament has been recalled to sit for three weeks on Monday, setting in motion a plan by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to pass controversial legislation or force a double dissolution election.

Last month, Turnbull threatened the Senate that if it didn't pass the controversial union watchdog bill, he would dissolve both houses of parliament at the 2016 federal election.

A double dissolution election results in the entire Senate being up for election, not just half which occurs in a regular federal election, and could result in a number of senators losing their seats to other candidates -- something the government hopes will happen so it has the votes to pass the bill if it remains deadlocked.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission was abolished by the last Labor government, but was reintroduced into parliament by the coalition last year. The bill, which would re-impose a watchdog over the unions, has since been deadlocked in the Senate.

But crossbench Senators -- the members most likely to be replaced at an election -- have maintained their opposition to passing the bill in its current form, meaning a July 2 double dissolution election was the likely outcome.

Senator Ricky Muir said he would not be approving the bill, while Nick Xenophon said there was "no doubt" the bill would "ultimately fail" meaning both the Senate and the House of Representatives would face the voters.

On Monday, Turnbull said it was imperative the bill was passed, and was more than happy to gamble on a double dissolution election to help it pass.

"The small businesses the tradesman whose jobs are threatened in the construction sector by lawlessness driven by the (trade union)," Turnbull told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

But Turnbull's play does come with some risk -- the latest opinion polls released on Monday has shown the government has slipped behind the Labor opposition.

A Fairfax-Ipsos poll showed the coalition and Labor were deadlocked at 50 percent each, while a Newspoll by New Corp showed the government was trailing Labor by two points -- 49 to 51.

Despite the dissatisfaction with the government, Australian voters are still warmer on Turnbull than Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Turnbull was placed ahead of Shorten 54 to 27 percent as preferred prime minister.

The last time an Australian government called a double dissolution was in 1987, when Prime Minister Bob Hawke was unable to pass the Australia Card Bill through the Senate.

Source: XINHUA