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

If my high-pitched friend here keeps quiet then I might get the rest of my speech in. This is a cheap political stunt. The arbiter of the matters contained in this motion are the very group that will ultimately judge the outcome of the senator in question. Senator Evans knows, and I know—and even the chattering Senator Carr knows—that these matters will be referred to the Privileges Committee. In the normal course of events that committee, of which I am deputy chair, will discuss this matter and take into account the very matters that Senator Evans has referred to in the motion. They are the arbiter of these matters and they will refer the matter back to the Senate, which is the final arbiter.

What Senator Evans has attempted to do today is to pre-empt the role of the Privileges Committee, which is chaired by his own colleague. Senator Evans, you should read your speech. If you were hoping to become a household name after this speech today then I am afraid, my friend, that you will be bitterly disappointed. You were not a household name before that speech today and you most certainly will not be after. If you read Senator Evans’s speech, you see that he said he was prepared to wait for final judgment but the PM was not. So what Senator Evans was telling the Senate was that he was waiting for final judgment—presumably from the Privileges Committee—before anything was done. What has actually happened is that the PM has moved to address the very things that you have referred to in this motion to maintain the integrity of this chamber and the very matters you are referring to.

Let us cut to the chase on this. This is a political stunt that would not have been possible had there been a reference to the Privileges Committee. This is about the opposition having a cheap shot at the Prime Minister for purely political purposes. Quite frankly, Senator Evans, your duplicity would not fool anyone undertaking—