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

Senator Fielding, as I indicated, I said, ‘Don’t be a patsy for the Liberal Party.’ There was an objection raised and I withdrew it. You were closer to me then than you are now, but I understand you were distracted. The point I make to the Senate chamber is that I urge Senator Fielding not to support the motion he has put and to actually allow the government to pay families the payments we want to pay them. You claim to represent families, but what you are doing is stopping us making those payments. You are putting at risk those payments. All I ask is that the Parliament of Australia deal with those bills over the next few days. You can have the examination, you can have the debate, but allow us to get those bills.

The irony of this whole debate is that the Liberal Party and the National Party say, ‘We want scrutiny, we want to examine these bills, but we are going to vote against them anyway.’ An uninformed observer might say: ‘What’s the point if they are going to vote against them anyway? What’s their position?’ Their position is firmly decided—that is, ‘Whatever the arguments, whatever the evidence, we are going to vote no, but it is really important that we delay for nine days.’ They want to delay the investment in the economy.