Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

We have interjections from the backbench again, but it is interesting that they come from a senator who also thinks that the committee’s time is being rushed. I also welcome his contribution to this debate. Over the last 12 months, the government have slowly been reducing the ability of references committees, or committees at large, to do their work. But it did not start there. It started when they got control of the Senate. What you then had was routine abuse that has continued, and it has continued unabated. It is about squeezing the ability of the Senate to actually hold the government to account. But that will not deter Labor. We will continue to press forward.

The government have unilaterally altered the allocation of questions at question time to take away questions. You have routinely rejected amendments to bills, even where they are supported by government members of committees. The government have blocked references of bills to committees with no reason—and references to committees with no reasons as well—and even without the bill. You have reduced the time for committees to consider bills. You have also used the gag and the guillotine to pass legislation, as I have said, 25 times. You have reduced the number of sitting days for the first half of this year. You have rejected many of the proposals for proper references for committees to look into issues, such as private health insurance, the detention of Cornelia Rau and a range of other matters in relation to which you then have said, ‘We don’t want the government to look at those.’

The government have rejected motions for the production of documents because you want to hide them from scrutiny. You have rejected requests for committees with respect to the consideration of information in the last 12 months. You have removed the spillover days from estimates hearings in May 2006 because you do not want estimates hearings to scrutinise the government. You want to take away those eight days to ensure that you cannot be examined and that the ministers would not feel a bit precious if a question were asked.

The government has refused to answer questions at estimates. You will all recall that senators are not allowed to ask a question about the AWB—heaven forbid! You have produced longer delays in answering questions. You have also increased the number of claims that answering questions on notice would be too expensive. This is a government that I have painted as having drawn itself into a little bundle to protect itself over the last 12 months from scrutiny, accountability and review. Now you are trying to pull the wool over your own eyes. The backbench should open up and should not be party to this outrage. What you have also done is ensure that witnesses would not appear at committees.

Those are the charges that are being put to you. I hope senators on the other side will be able to agree and start standing up for themselves—and for the government, because the government will not stand up for itself—to defend the ability of the Senate to hold this government to account and scrutinise the legislation, but I doubt it.