Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

by us, by every taxpayer in Australia. If they really want to be taken seriously on the matter of protecting democracy, if they really want to be taken seriously on the matter of providing a level playing field for both parties, then that is fine—the Liberal Party can write a cheque and repay the money. Give the money back that you took from the Australian people to fund your own election campaign. Egregious hypocrisy, thy name is the Liberal Party. They took taxpayers’ money and used it for their own political purposes. In most countries we would call that corruption. That is what it is called.

This is a very sensible measure. All the measures contained in this bill are sensible. I will refer schedule 1 to the Senate Standing Committee on Economics. They will hold hearings; people can make submissions. The Senate economics committee will do a thorough job, as they always do. I have no doubt that during this term, as the Labor Party fixes the legacy of the seriously lopsided electoral arrangements that the previous government left, there will be an opportunity for the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters to look at all these matters in some holistic manner, but there is no way that I am going to allow the opposition to delay this very important measure. By the way, this is a savings measure, so that is test No. 1 failed—they are opposing a savings measure. That is test No. 1. There will be a lot more to come over the next few months. The opposition do not support a $10 million savings measure. Let us see how they go with the many more savings measures which will be put before the House, particularly when the budget is brought down. I commend the bill to the House.

Question put:

That the words proposed to be omitted (Mr Keenan’s amendment) stand part of the question.

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