Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I thought I might just raise that slight technical issue. I would like to make some brief comments. We are keen on this side of the chamber to proceed with the substance. However, there are some things which Senator Brown said which I do not intend to respond to over and over again if they are said over and over again but which I will respond to on this occasion. It is the case that amendments are being moved. It is also the case that the Greens chose not to attend a briefing that I arranged for them with departmental officials which occurred prior to these amendments being publicly announced. They sent a staffer along who was there for 15 minutes and left. They are entitled to do that. If they do not wish to be briefed by the government on the amendments, that is a matter for them. But I make the point that it is difficult to take Senator Brown seriously, coming into this place saying he does not know about or understand the amendments, when the Greens party made so little effort to acquaint themselves with the detail of these amendments at a briefing that the government organised.