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

There is a second printing coming up? If I can be of any assistance to you, Senator Mason, let me just suggest to you that you should get the second print run and release it on the same day that Mr Costello releases his book and you might get some flow-on effects in sales and it might boost your credibility in respect of this. Often we find that just because someone has written a book about a subject it does not necessarily mean that it gives them any authority to speak on it. Nonetheless I am indebted to Senator McEwen and I will look for your book, Senator Mason, with some interest. There are plenty of opportunities in parliament when we need something to help us sleep and I suggest that maybe there will be an occasion, Senator Mason, when your book might be very useful.

We have seen Senator Mason open the debate on the Higher Education Support Amendment (Removal of the Higher Education Workplace Relations Requirements and National Governance Protocols Requirements and Other Matters) Bill 2008 with a defence of the opposition’s position in respect of this bill. I know that he has told us that, if the amendments they are suggesting are not passed, they will vote against the bill in its entirety. That is an unfortunate position. I cannot help but think, though, that it is a little bit of a try-on by Senator Mason to come and run that line, because there has not been a single opposition senator come into this chamber to support the position of Senator Mason—not a single senator!