Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

What we now have is the proposal that I outlined earlier being rejected by the opposition. This would have allowed the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill to be negotiated during speeches on the second reading and, additionally, would have allowed the youth allowance bill to be proceeded with this week and to be dealt with, as we have done in the past in many different ways to allow extended hours to deal with the legislative program that is on the Notice Paper.

It is clear now that the opposition have only one task in mind—that is, to delay, to delay and to delay; to filibuster and to use the time of the Senate so that they do not deal with it. The opposition do not support the social security legislation. They have been adding speakers to the list, and we will find towards the conclusion of the seconding reading debate that they will go into committee and deal with it for a period unknown. So the sensible position is to deal with the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill as we have foreshadowed and outlined. We have an opportunity to finalise the speeches on the second reading, which they rejected for the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill, and for them to sit down meaningfully with the government and ask, ‘What time is available to deal with the social security legislation?’ The government would have indicated that, yes, it is a bill that we need to conclude and it is a bill that we can adequately deal with. As we have in the past in many other periods similar to this one towards the end of a sitting period, we could then have dealt with it either on Thursday or, alternatively, using Friday as well.

The Senate could then have sat to deal with the legislation, but instead you, the opposition, are grasping at straws. What you do not want to deal with is the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill. It is interesting that Senator Minchin is here as well, because we know that, as a climate change sceptic, he will do anything to ensure that we do not deal with the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill. The opposition might complain about the government’s ability to deal with the legislative program, but we now have the opposition clearly highlighting the fact that they want to deal with a bill at length and not get on with the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill. Why? It is because they do not want to deal with one of the most significant bills that we will confront this year. They do not want to deal with it in any way, shape or form. They want to deal with this other bill. They might like to highlight which other bills they would like to deal with before getting on with the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill as another device to filibuster. We know the position that the opposition have adopted in relation to the bill. They do not support it; they never have. That is the position that we are now dealing with.