Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Hansard source

Climate change and the drought. We might see a few more Independents from regional Australia, given the National Party’s abrogation of its responsibility and its sell-out of its own constituency. It is very possible that that will occur. What certainly should occur is that this parliament, in one debate every day, should have the right to have a proper exchange with proper time limits. This is an attack on democracy which is consistent with the Howard government’s approach to these issues.

It is quite clear why the Prime Minister wants to stop MPIs—because they hold him to account and he wants to avoid that accountability. During question time today, in the last question asked by the Leader of the Opposition, I lost count of how many members from this side of the House were thrown out and excluded from the parliamentary process. Over on that side there were constant interjections but not a single warning, let alone anyone being thrown out of the parliament. We come into this parliament day after day and expect the odds to be tilted in the government’s favour. Every match is played on their home ground and in every match they appoint the referee. We understand that that is the case. But on the critical matter of public importance of the day we should not have a silencing of dissent—and that is exactly what we are seeing here.

In the Senate, since the government took control, we have seen a whole series of procedures put in place to remove accountability and to remove transparency. We have borne witness to gags and guillotines on fundamental pieces of legislation such as the debate on the most significant changes to workplace laws in over 100 years. We have seen one-day inquiries on significant legislation such as the full privatisation of Telstra. We have seen nation-changing bills rammed through the parliament: the draconian changes to the welfare system, the antiterrorism legislation and the abolition of voluntary student unionism, just to name a few. Now we are seeing a similar attack in this House.

Labor and the Independents—and, if the truth be allowed, many members of the government backbench as well who have complained to the opposition about these provisions—are united in our view that this motion is a gross abuse of parliamentary process and a gross abuse of democracy. The Howard government’s arrogant abuse of members’ rights to engage in parliamentary debate is treating not the members of parliament but the electorate with contempt. We are elected to represent the views of those who have sent us to this House, and we are privileged to be representatives in this House, but voters will remember how they and democracy are being treated.

The arrogance of this government, which this particular provision highlights, does not stop there. One of the other measures that the Leader of the House has moved seeks to clarify the role of the newly created Howard government rank of assistant minister. The Leader of the House has proposed changes to standing orders that seek to define the role of this new so-called assistant minister. When the list came out, when the Prime Minister appointed his new frontbench, many people would have wondered what this assistant minister status was. We know from today’s changes to standing orders, which rule out any scrutiny by the parliament of assistant ministers, that assistant ministers are essentially parliamentary secretaries with a different name. Take, for example, the new Assistant Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, the member for Parkes. Anyone who has seen the member for Parkes perform in this parliament will know why it is imperative for the government to shield him from parliamentary scrutiny, because he is incapable of answering a question on the floor of this parliament. Yet, if you go to his office, RG 85, the nameplate says ‘Assistant Minister for the Environment and Water Resources’. If you visit his website it will say the same: ‘Assistant Minister’. He is no parliamentary secretary; he has been given this high status.

But you do not have to do that. You can just ask him. The member for Parkes was quoted as saying that he has a ‘dream portfolio’ because water will be his main responsibility. On ABC radio on 24 January he said:

The problem has been getting them [the states] to actually do anything about it, so I’m very excited about water being my area of responsibility in the future.

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