Pillow, blanket 'safety risk' for pollies

Cabinet Minister Christopher Pyne has revealed politicians are no longer allowed to have pillows and blankets in their offices for late night parliamentary sittings because of occupational health and safety reasons.

Senators ploughed through a marathon debate on new electoral laws on Thursday night and into Friday, and it may have been an uncomfortable night for those trying to have a nap in their offices.

"Occupation health and safety rules have changed and the pillow and the blanket were removed in case we slipped off the couch and hurt ourselves on the floor," Mr Pyne told Sky News.

Labor frontbencher Richard Marles responded: "Thank God we had somebody looking out for us".

Mr Pyne is a veteran of more than 40 late-night parliamentary sittings over the past two decades and acknowledged they usually didn't end well but seemed like a good idea at the time.

"It's legislation by exhaustion," he said.

Mr Marles said as a new MP he was paranoid about sleeping through votes during his first late-night sitting so he had a wake-up buddy system with a colleague.