Martin Ferguson (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Transport, Roads and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I am forced to join with the member for Bruce in raising the performance of the government not only in the Senate but also in the House of Representatives. I must say that I was a bit surprised on Tuesday night. I was driving home and, having nothing else to listen to on the radio, I tuned in to the Senate. To my surprise I found the Opposition Whip, one Senator George Campbell, on his feet having to respond to a request by the government to enable them to put legislation before the Senate yet again. I listened to this intently and I wondered, ‘What is going on?’

Here is a government that has a majority in the Senate. I know the Australian community now realises it has made a mistake, with Work Choices legislation and a raft of other legislation with which the government has used its majority to have its way with respect to penalising ordinary Australian workers. As the debate went on, we found out that a number of government senators had not met their responsibilities—responsibilities which the Australian community expects them to meet by actually turning up to do their job.

This bill, the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2006, is a very important one because it is about restricting ordinary workers’ compensatable rights. It takes away the capacity to guarantee compensation to ordinary workers going to and from work. The government wants to have its way in respect of penalising ordinary workers yet again, as it has under the Work Choices legislation, yet it could not even get a number of senators—and, I must say, if they have an accident, they have a guarantee that they will receive their salaries on an ongoing basis. There is no question of any loss of pay for these senators. That is the nature of the legislation before the House this morning in respect of the rights of ordinary workers.

We have a number of senators, led by Senator Sandy Macdonald and his partner in crime, Senator Santoro, who are unable to fulfil their responsibilities and obligations to the Australian community and unable to maintain government discipline. I would have thought that it was about time the government realised that it is their responsibility to run the House of Representatives and also to run the Senate. It is not our responsibility. I might also say that, in respect of the performance of the government, it is interesting to have a look from time to time at the list of speakers who are willing to debate legislation before the House.

There is not much legislation at the moment because this government has run out of ideas. All too often, it is the opposition and the Independents who are keeping the House going by being prepared to come here and participate in debates. That is our job: to seriously consider the nature of legislation, to point out faults and to seek to improve it. It is actually a terrific opportunity in life to do that, because you are trying to do what is in the best interests of Australia as a nation.

Yet, unfortunately, on Tuesday evening, the government, with a majority in the Senate, had to get on its hands and knees and plead to the opposition party. Senator George Campbell had to respond, and he did so with goodwill. He said, ‘Yes, we will give you leave,’ because that is about cooperating and making sure that the house operates appropriately. But it reminds us all of the fact that we now have an arrogant government that has run out of ideas and has no business. Not only has it failed in the Senate this week because of its arrogance and contempt for parliamentary processes but also it has failed in the House of Representatives.

Who would have thought that this week—actually, yesterday—the Main Committee, which is about facilitating the operation of the House’s non-controversial legislation, would sit for only 90 minutes? And that was not for the purposes of considering legislation. Those 90 minutes were taken up with members’ three-minute statements. It is worse today. There is no legislation and the Main Committee is not even sitting. What is going on? Where is the government’s program of action?

I consider that the House should acknowledge that we have a government that has run out of ideas. There is no legislative program. The Senate collapsed the other evening because of an inability to have its way in respect of government legislation. The Main Committee of the House has collapsed today, and it sat for only 90 minutes yesterday. To those in the government, I think it is about time that you understood that you have another six to eight months in this parliament and that you are obligated to bring legislation before the House and debate changes that are necessary and affect the Australian community.

You also have an obligation to make sure that the House and the Senate perform and function in a proper way. If you do not then, clearly, the Australian community is right in its current attitude to the government. It is the government that has run out of ideas and run out of steam. The parliamentary processes—the legislative requirements of the nation, both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives—this week proved that beyond any doubt. So the message to the government is this: start doing your business. It is our responsibility—and we will do it—to participate in debates, but it is your responsibility to run both houses. (Time expired)

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