Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

Perhaps I could move to take note of documents 3, 4, 5 and 6 and speak to them together, by leave of the Senate. I doubt that anyone else will want to speak on these.

Leave granted.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the documents.

I am keen to talk about these documents, the annual reports on the regional forest agreements between the Commonwealth and the state of New South Wales. In commencing, I note that there does not appear to be anyone from the Greens political party here to talk about what they always considered to be one of the most important issues confronting Australia. I happen to remember that my first job in this chamber as the newly installed minister for forestry back in 2001, I think it was, in the very first week of sitting after the 2001 election, related to the Regional Forest Agreements Bill. Mr Acting Deputy President, would you believe that the Greens were so interested in that debate that they kept it running for 28 hours? We spent 28 hours on the Regional Forest Agreements Bill.

I just raise that in the context of an issue before the parliament at the moment. The emissions trading scheme bill, the wrongly called Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill, is listed for debate—in fact, we have been debating it all week so far—but the government keep telling us they want us to deal with that bill before the end of next week. We all know from newspaper reports—and from no other source, I might say—that the government intends to amend that bill, to include agriculture at least. We do not know the details, but we have heard a leaked report from Senator Wong that the government will be including agriculture. We do not know about it, even though we have been debating the bill for three or four days. It just shows how the government cannot manage its chamber business, its parliamentary processes. We know they cannot manage the economy, but this just proves they cannot manage the chamber business.

But let me go back to the point I was making about the Regional Forest Agreements Bill. For 28 hours the Greens kept debate on that bill going. It was an important bill. I am pleased to say that the Senate, in its wisdom, approved the bill, and it is as a result of that that we have these documents before us today. But that was the Greens alone. I do not think too many other people took part in the debate except Senator Brown and me, as the relevant minister. We spent 28 hours on that important bill and, important though it was, I have to say in prioritising that it was not nearly as important as the so-called Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill, which could completely change the way of life in Australia. It could mean enormous additional taxes on Australians. It could mean increased costs of living for every single Australian.

So how can we possibly deal with that before the end of next week, when the Senate rises, according to a program which the Labor government put forward—a program that clearly indicates that this is the shortest sitting year we have had in the federal parliament for almost a decade. That is the Labor Party. Are they concerned about scrutiny or do they have something to worry about? But they are going to want us to deal with the so-called Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill in about 15 hours of government business time between now and when the Senate rises.

I will go back. The Regional Forest Agreements Bill, important though it was, did not have anywhere near the ramifications that the so-called Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill will have, and yet it took 28 hours to get it through this chamber. We are given something like 15 hours to try and get through a piece of legislation that will have a huge impact on the Australian economy. I ask my colleagues in the chamber and anyone who might be listening: how much hypocrisy is there in the Labor Party? How much do they think they can override the wishes of the parliament in dealing with their legislative program? That bill, as with the Regional Forest Agreements Bill, needs plenty of discussion. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.