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

I want to take the opportunity to ask for support for the legislative package before the chamber. This is a most important package. It is a package that has been designed to deal with very urgent needs: to stimulate the economy, to protect jobs and to protect Australia from the worst impacts of the looming economic recession driven by the global financial crisis. This is urgent. It is necessary. Similar measures have been taken in countries around the world with the support of their parliaments. This will be the first parliament in the world, as I understand it, to defeat a government’s plans to stimulate their economy—not just to amend but to defeat, and to leave the government in a position where it is unable to implement the measures that will stimulate our economy and save Australians’ jobs. This leaves the government with a package that it cannot implement. If this package is defeated, the government has been denied its right to act on behalf of the Australian people, its right to govern in the interests of the Australian people.

We do not deny the right of the Senate to seek to amend, to examine and to argue about the package. But, at the end of the day, the Senate has to make a balanced judgment. It has to be a balanced judgment between the interests of the minor and opposition parties and Independent senators and the arguments they want to pursue and the interests of the government and the government’s decision making in trying to meet its responsibilities to the Australian people.

We have had a long process to try to reach a broader consensus in the Senate chamber. The opposition have refused to participate in that. They took themselves out of the equation weeks ago and have refused to support the economic stimulus package. That is their decision. They made themselves impotent. But they also, of course, have put at risk the government’s capacity to stimulate the economy. They will be held responsible for the defeat of this package, if it is defeated, because they have refused to allow the government to implement its responsibilities. I am sure they expected that this package might pass. They were constantly making quite long speeches which effectively said they were pursuing a political tactic rather than an economically responsible position. They sought to position themselves for a political debate a year down the track. They said, ‘We can politically position ourselves to our advantage where we can argue the debt question.’ What they did not do is take on their responsibilities as parliamentarians and as an alternative government.

So we are left in the situation where the fate of these bills lies in the hands of Senator Xenophon because the opposition have painted themselves into a corner, into irrelevancy, but into a position where they seek to wreck the government’s capacity to govern. They have the opportunity to make their critiques, to argue their points, but to support the package. Instead, they seek to undermine the capacity of this government to respond to the crisis, to do the job of government. For an alternative government, I think that is quite reprehensible behaviour.

The government are committed to getting this economic stimulus package through. We will not desist from our efforts to do that. It is vital for our economy. It is vital for Australian jobs. We urge the Senate to support the third reading. I know Senator Xenophon has applied himself to these issues, but we urge him to think deeply about whether solving some of the environmental issues involved in the Murray-Darling can all be achieved in this package and whether or not putting at risk the whole economic stimulus package in order to pursue his very worthy agenda in relation to the Murray-Darling is worth it. We urge him to think about whether or not he has got the balance of considerations right.

The government have bent over backwards to try to find an accommodation that meets the concerns of the Greens and the Independents but allows us to get on with the fundamental job of governing and providing the necessary economic leadership for this country. So I again urge the Senate to support the package. I foreshadow that if the third reading is defeated the government will immediately reintroduce the package into the House of Representatives and seek to get the House to support the amended package. And we will look to sit the Senate as soon as possible, probably in the week starting 23 February, in order to again seek Senate support for the package. We are absolutely determined to act in the national interest to ensure that this stimulus package is carried and that Australian families and workers get the protections that this package provides.

In the meantime, there will be huge confusion in the community. There will be a complete lack of confidence. I think senators need to think about that and what that does to confidence in business and confidence in the community more generally about what the economic future holds for them. Every senator who votes against this will have to explain their role in that. They will have to stand up. I know the opposition did not think they would have to. They thought this would quietly go through, that Senators Xenophon and Fielding would join us, and they would be all care and no responsibility. Someone said to us, ‘Senator Xenophon’s called your bluff!’ It is not the government’s bluff that has been called. We will continue to pressure for this.

I advise the Senate that, if the third reading of this bill is defeated, Senator Ludwig, on behalf of the government, will seek to move a motion that allows the Senate to sit in its normal parliamentary form in the week commencing 23 February. Because we think this is urgent, we will seek to reintroduce the legislation. We hope to carry that in the House of Representatives tonight, if required, and we will look to make the Senate reconsider its position, look to insist that the Senate allow the government to do what is needed in the national interest, not tie our hands behind our backs, not allow us to lose vital time in providing the support the economy needs.

All the evidence from economists, commentators, business and state governments has supported the need for this stimulus package. While people may still argue about the detail, fundamentally, defeat of the package is a huge decision. It is a decision that calls into question confidence in the Australian economy. It puts at risk more jobs and more businesses. I urge the Senate to consider that carefully. We have been through a process that sought to get the best result. People have looked to negotiate. They have looked to accommodate. I appreciate the efforts that the Greens and the minor senators have put into that, but this is not the time to hold out. This is not the time to insist on having an individual senator’s agenda rated higher or given preference over the national interest. This is a time to get the balance right.