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

Senator Cormann bleats again about how he—not I—sought to reorganise the program. Senator Fielding, you have agreed to that reorganisation. I do not think you can walk away from that. You have perhaps sought to arrange the program to suit your own circumstances or position. I do not think you can be critical of the government if it cannot provide a response in the short time that you have made available. You have also been critical of the government for not managing the program—well, you are managing it now. Senator Fielding is now seeking to manage the government’s program by agreeing with the opposition. Senator Fielding might want to turn his mind to managing his way out of a wet paper bag. It was his decision to bring this on with little or no notice, expecting us to be able to deal comprehensively with the amendments. As a government, we will manage as best we can. I have indicated our position. That is the advice we have to date. It has not been finalised, but we do understand that we have a broad agreement.

As for your amendment, Senator Fielding, I can only indicate that the principles may be there but I cannot agree to it. On face value, it does not look like a sensible amendment, and I understand it was not in the committee’s recommendations—although I am happy to be corrected. It came from you. I understand that you are genuinely trying to provide effective input into the legislation and that you have at heart the best interests of both the providers and the patients. But in this instance we do not see any merit in the amendment.