Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer, representing the Special Minister of State. Will the Treasurer inform the House what support the government has received for its Senate voting reforms?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer can resume his seat.

Mrs McNamara interjecting—

The member for Dobell is warned.

Mr Swan interjecting—

The member for Lilley will cease interjecting.

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a farce!

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lilley is warned. I am going to address some remarks to all members—without interjections, if members wish to remain in the chamber. The level of noise, as I said, is now too high. It was too high yesterday. When I became Speaker, I said that the parliament should be a robust place. I also said that I would give a fair go to all but, in return, I wanted to see an improvement in the level of discourse. The Leader of the Opposition at that time made the point that it was a good time for all members to reflect on their behaviour, and he was right. There are many members who do not interject, and there are a large number who have not been sent out under 94(a). But there are some who have been frequently sent out. I accept, of course, from time to time there will be reactions and interjections—I am a realist—but continuing persistent interjections from those who have been continually ejected will not be tolerated. I want to give fair warning that I will be taking more severe action if necessary, which the standing orders allow.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for the question. Two days ago in this House, representing the Special Minister of State, I introduced legislation that did something that the member for Brand rightly said would ensure that how an elector marks their ballot paper is how that ballot should be counted.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The members for Charlton and Gellibrand will remove those props and they will remove themselves under 94(a).

The members for Charlton and Gellibrand then left the chamber.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am asked about who has supported this legislation. The member for Brand has rightly said in this place:

It is self-evidently the case that our parliament needs to act on electoral reform.

This parliament is seeking to do that through the bill brought forward by the government. The member for Brand said quite plainly that the counting of the ballot paper should reflect the intent of the voter and not the desire of ballot manipulators.

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney is now warned.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is what the member for Brand, a former Special Minister of State, said. The member for Brand, unlike those opposite more generally, has been entirely consistent on this point. He said in February of this year:

These reforms simply mean that political parties, including my own, will have to convince the public rather than backroom deal-makers that they deserve their votes.

He is not alone, because the member for Bruce, who sat on the JSCEM committee, Mr Speaker, with you and did joint press conferences with you in relation to the unanimous recommendations of the JSCEM report, said:

The government should be acting on these recommendations and, if they're going to, they need to hurry up because they're running out of time.

The current National Secretary of the ALP, George Wright, said:

… GVTs—

group voting tickets—

are so blatantly being abused to frustrate the democratic will of electors …

You would think that, with all of that support—from head office, from esteemed members of the opposition—the member for Brand, who has served as a Special Minister of State, would have got support in their party room. In fact, you can look at what some of them have said. The member for McMahon said this in December 2013:

I do think the rise of micro parties and the ability of people to be elected on very, very small preference primary votes—

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Any chance of talking about economics at all?

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for McMahon is warned.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

through complex preference swaps, is something that committee should very justifiably be looking at and what steps can be taken to ensure that people's votes are properly reflected in the Upper House.

Where was the member for McMahon when this matter was discussed? I understand the member for Isaacs and the member for Batman went to bat for the member for Brand, but those opposite decided to welch on the JSCEM report. It is clear that the Labor Party's real principle—that your vote is always safer in their hands rather than in your own—is alive and well with the spivs that are now running the Labor Party. It is the backroom deals done in ski lodges in Thredbo that the member for Watson is very familiar with. That is the sort of spiv politics that we are seeing from those opposite in this House and in the Senate— (Time expired)

Ms Rishworth interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Kingston is warned.