Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Obviously, I am disappointed that the opposition is indicating that it will not be supporting these amendments now. I do appreciate the sentiment that Senator Bernardi has just expressed. You can guarantee that I am not going to let this issue drop, because it needs to be dealt with urgently as a short-term measure, as I have already said—and I will not go back over it again—while the longer term issues are being discussed. As I said, we support the longer term issues. I think it is a very good move, but we do need to deal with this issue immediately. I thank the senator for his indication of intent to discuss this further—if I interpret what he has said properly. I look forward to that. I hope we can find some way of working with government, because I think this issue should be above politics. We should start addressing it as a matter of urgency, so that people in the sector can actually move to some modicum of a degree of better salary and better resources with which to carry out the vital work that they do.

Question put:

That the amendment (Senator Siewert’s) be agreed to.