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

Senator, you were not at the meeting, but ask Senator Minchin what I proposed. The government said we would meet Thursday and Friday to deal with those bills that contained immediate payments to families—to fast-track those bills—and we would take up the opposition’s very constructive suggestion to move estimates and meet next week to debate those bills that go to infrastructure and the more complex matters of policy. We took up that offer. We said we would sit Thursday night, Friday, Saturday—whatever it took. Why? We said that because we want to make sure that we do not miss the proposed dates to get those payments to families—to get that money into their hands—to support them and to support the economy. That is the only reason we sought to ask you to sit—to give up another day or so to stay here, debate and scrutinise those bills and to give us the chance to make sure we met the timetable to put that money into families’ hands, to provide the stimulus in March for the economy and to allow you the whole of next week to examine the legislation.

I also indicated that we would support a Senate inquiry, that we would make that happen as well, because that is not an unreasonable request. But we have to balance the need for scrutiny, the need for parliamentarians to examine the detail and be informed, with the urgency of the government to act. We have to find the balance. We offered that balance and the Liberal Party scoffed. Senator Coonan scoffed. They were not interested. They said: ‘We’ve got plenty of time. Don’t worry about families getting the money. It’ll all be okay.’ We do not accept that. We actually say it is urgent.