Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Good luck to her if she is. You will be over there longer than I will be here, too, I suggest.

Senator Fisher then went on and thought there was a problem with government senators actually challenging the position put by witnesses and the department, in terms of the policy. It is actually the role of the Senate committee process to not automatically accept the assumptions made by anyone. This is the purpose. We are actually there to challenge and scrutinise legislation before us. If something is not clear, government senators should do that. I suggest that if the now opposition had done that properly when they were in government they would not be in the position they are in now. I think everyone over there accepts that they should never have removed the no disadvantage test. Maybe they should have challenged their government’s legislation during that process—they should have. If they had, things may be quite different. Nonetheless, that was not done. It is not as if the then government coalition senators did not know. Everyone told them. The reports in the committee process told them that removing the no disadvantage test at the time would result in a spiral to the bottom, a race to the bottom, which is exactly what happened. I think Senator Murray in his contribution earlier today said that he told them. I know I certainly told them and I know nearly every senator now on this side of the chamber told them as well.

It was interesting that Senator Fisher, in her 20-minute contribution, talked for 10 minutes about the bill and the inquiry and then went on to the wage freeze for politicians. I am not quite sure about the link to complaining about a wage freeze for politicians. I know that those in the opposition are very bitter and twisted about that wage freeze. I heard a number of senators through the estimates process complaining about it.