Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Special Minister of State) Share this | Hansard source

They have spent enormous amounts of money. But they cannot plead openness and transparency and then put in place a process of denial of their responsibility to answer these questions within a reasonable time. If they are going to preach something, they have actually got to be prepared to practise it. Senator Ludwig knows as well as I do that these are not explanations within the rules of the Senate. They are not explanations that the rules of this place have demanded, and I am not going to pursue the matter any further than that. Despite the fact that they are outside the standing orders—that there has been complete and utter contempt for Odgers and a complete and utter contempt for the process—this will be the end of it.

But I will put you on notice now, Senator Ludwig, that if you do not clean your act up, if you do not improve your answers to questions, then we will be back here again and we will go through the same process. If you are serious about openness and transparency, if you are serious about processes, let us make sure that I do not have to do again what has now taken up some three-quarters of an hour of the Senate to do—obtain answers that you were required to provide after 30 days under the standing orders. That is the only reason we are spending three-quarters of an hour in here: to make sure that you deliver what you should have delivered 60-plus days ago—and in some cases a lot more than 90 days. So let us hear no more about openness and transparency and let us hear a bit more honesty from this government in relation to what it is going to do vis-a-vis its respect for this chamber.