Julian McGauran (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Of course. In truth, the change the government is proposing to introduce is to merely revert back to the system pre 1994—a system which the Labor government of the time worked under for over a decade and were quite happy with. If I remember rightly, when it was changed in 1994—and I would like to see in the Hansard what Senator Ray had to say about this at the time—they were none too happy about the changes then that we forced on them, with the Democrats’ support. All we are proposing is a reversion back to a system that you worked under previously.

This government is simply seeking to hold the chairs of the committees, and that is really the essence of the debate. Past Hansards will show that the Labor government were in strong objection to the change of the committee system at that time when they held the chairs. Of course, now that you are in opposition you take a different view, and that is not surprising because you have consistently taken different views from those you held in government to those you hold in opposition. You have no consistency in Senate procedure, let alone in policies, at all. There is enough evidence to say that. You have ditched just about every philosophical policy you ever held while you were in government, and you are singing a completely different tune with regard to your principles in opposition. And there are any number of examples of that, even in the past couple of weeks, when you backflipped on your industrial relations policy.

No-one doubts that, if you had a chance—if you did get into government at some point—you would revert back to your preference prior to 1994. That is the model that you preferred in government and that is the model—and no-one has any doubt—you would revert back to if you had a chance to be in government, and that is a pretty simple model. The government of the day holds the chairs of the committees.