Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Okay. It is there on the list now. Let me put a point of view here that is somewhat different from the prime ministerial point of view, because this is a directive, if you like, from the Prime Minister. We have in this place a Great Hall. It should not just be for the raising of huge amounts of money by political parties. It should be put into the service of the people of Australia generally. It is the proper place for visiting heads of state and also people who are not heads of state, like Prime Minister Blair, to address parliamentarians and, indeed, citizens of this country. That is what the Great Hall’s function is.

The use of the chambers of parliament is for those elected to this parliament under our democratic system. The proposal that we go to the House of Representatives to listen to the address from Prime Minister Blair is second-rate. We ought to be going to the Great Hall of this parliament. The Senate should not be seen as a secondary house. We should not be simply falling into a process whereby the Prime Minister of this country wants to aggrandise himself and make determinations about how and when this parliament should be used. Of course, the members of the government will rubber-stamp this proposal, but I want to make it absolutely clear that visiting politicians, whatever their status might be, should be addressing parliamentarians and members of the public in the Great Hall. That is the proper function of the Great Hall.