Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have listened to Senator Murray. Senator Murray is someone that I have a great deal of respect for, but he seems to have forgotten that the majority of the Liberal members actually put forward some quite substantial amendments to this bill. This notion that we are some sort of policy lackey, just blindly following what the executive says, is, quite frankly, patent nonsense. It is absolute, patent nonsense.

I want to deal with a couple of other matters. There have been some very unfortunate reflections on other people in this chamber over the last 24 hours—particularly, I have to say, in relation to Senator Fielding. This is one person with a staff of three. I do not agree with everything that Senator Fielding has said since he has been here, but I will tell you what I do respect him for: the fact that he puts an enormous amount of work into coming to a position on the matters that go before this chamber.

It is all right for Senator Conroy to giggle over there. He has the resources of the union movement and the Labor Party. He has resources everywhere. But somehow it is a joke when someone says that Senator Fielding is doing it hard. He is putting an enormous amount of work in with a very limited number of staff. I defy anyone to stand up here and accuse Senator Fielding of not giving due consideration to the matters that have come before this chamber in the last 14 months. I think that is a disgraceful allegation.

What amuses me even more is this. There was a reflection on Senator Fielding—the person with three staff and no other resources—for not being at the committee hearings. Senator Fielding was attacked by Senator Brown, the ‘Where’s Wally?’ of the Senate, who has the resources, who does have the backing and who did not bother coming to the committee hearings. He did not bother coming to this committee. And where was Wally during the Telstra committee inquiry? You know where he was, Senator Conroy; he was wandering around—