John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am hoping that the information you have reported to us is wrong, because if it is right it is a scandalous proposition that will have a massive impact on scrutiny and accountability of federal government in this nation. It will have a massive impact on the capacity of the Senate to scrutinise the actions of government. Frankly, that is what this Senate ought to be all about. That is the core business of the Senate: review, scrutiny, accountability. So I hope what Senator Brown said is wrong—and we will find out about that in due course.

But I cannot let go the suggestion that this matter, like any committee reference, is in the hands of the opposition. It is not. It is in the hands of the government. Every reference proposed here, every inquiry proposed here and every order of the Senate proposed here is in the hands of the government. It is not in the hands of the opposition. We do not like having to say this, but our votes on these sorts of issues actually do not matter. There are 39 votes on the other side of the chamber and they are the ones that are going to deliver or not deliver this particular proposal, like every other that comes before the chair.