Crescendo to an ugly parliamentary year - The Australian

A year of unedifying parliamentary brawling will each new heights this week as the government and the opposition seek to inflict lasting political damage on each other.

Pressure: Tony Abbott will today expand the Coalition attack on Julia Gillard, seeking to exploit the slush fund scandal by pressing for immediate industrial relations reform to impose criminal penalties on union leaders who misuse members' cash. The Opposition Leader will use the resumption of federal parliament to turn the fight over the alleged fraud at the Australian Workers Union into a wider challenge to the Prime Minister and her Labor colleagues over ethics and standards. He will move to suspend standing orders in federal parliament today to introduce a private member's bill that would toughen standards for union leaders.