Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

A senator is required to correct the record immediately. We have been sitting for a few hours. There has been no sign of him. I am told that he has promised to come in. We await that with interest. He will have to provide a very compelling case as to why we should not refer these matters to the Privileges Committee and why he should not be the subject of some censure from the Senate. But the bottom line in all of this, of course, is that that is a decision for the government. Senator Santoro and his coalition colleagues will get to vote on whether any action is taken against Senator Santoro. That is one of the ironies of the government’s control of the Senate—the government will be held to account as to what standards it will apply to its own. You will not be able to escape being held to account for the standards that this government regards as acceptable, because whatever a privileges inquiry finds, the Senate will have to decide what punishment or censure it takes— (Time expired)