Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (News Media Diversity) Bill 2013. I have a copy of the bill here. It has 74 pages and there are another 52 pages in the explanatory memorandum. I wonder how many members of the government that will come into this chamber shortly and vote for this nonsense have actually read either of these documents. For, if they did, they would see that the bill makes reference to the Public Interest Media Advocate over and over and over again. The only problem is that who the Public Interest Media Advocate is, how they will be selected and what terms they will have are all in a separate bill, which was due to be debated and voted on at the same time. What we have here tonight in our federal parliament is an absolute farce of procedure. We have a government that is completely out of control, that does not have a clue what it is doing and that is making it up minute by minute. Is it any wonder that the country is in such a mess? Is it any wonder that our national debt is heading north of $260 billion? If the government cannot organise this parliament to run here tonight in an efficient manner, where we are actually voting on legislation that ties together, what hope have they got?