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

I have listened intently to Senator Ludwig and Senator Stephens. While I appreciate the commentary in relation to this matter, regrettably their argument fails, I am afraid, on one very basic test. That test is that when this matter was first introduced the Australian Labor Party had the opportunity to refer the bill and they chose not to. When the matter came back again, they made that choice. One of two things would have driven that, one would assume: either there had been changes, which there were not; or there is another issue at stake, and that is that it is an election year and this is being used no more or less than to continue running the line the opposition is running—that somehow the processes are corrupt, that there is an abuse of the position in this place. The bottom line with this debate today is that, having had the opportunity to refer, if this matter was of such significance to the Australian Labor Party that it was to be referred then surely it would have been referred. The fact that it was not indicates that there must be other reasons for this; and those other reasons can only relate to the politics of this situation, and nothing else. I think that, quite frankly, is very sad.

As the new Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Economics, I would have hoped that no honourable senators would have viewed the process—and you yourself, Mr Acting Deputy President Murray, were involved in that process—and the way that process was conducted as anything but open and frank. Every senator was given every opportunity to raise questions of concern. We had a reporting deadline. In terms of where we met, we had some up weeks and the committee unanimously agreed to meet on Monday. Indeed, I received congratulations from one non-government member on the speed with which the chair’s draft report was turned around—and I am not going to name that person because that would be unfair. Every part of this process was done to facilitate the work of the economics committee to consider this bill. There was not one part of that process that was in any way bastardised to the detriment of committee members. Indeed, everything was done to facilitate due consideration of this matter.