Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment Participation, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I am surprised that I am now in a position where I have to participate in this debate at this point in time. The opposition was going to facilitate, as we were keen to facilitate this morning, the easy passage of this legislation in the public interest. Senator Parry was very generous with the minister. Talking about confusion in the minister’s office was a very generous way of describing what happened today. If I can advise the Senate, I received a call from the minister this morning and he advised me that this legislation would come up after non-controversial legislation. But, rather than coming up after noncontroversial legislation, it came up at 12.30 pm, when neither Senator Hanson-Young nor Senator Xenophon were in the chamber. I understand that both Senator Hanson-Young and Senator Xenophon had been advised the same. Now I see them nod so I assume that they were advised by the government along the same lines.

Not only that but in that conversation this morning Senator Carr told me that Senator Xenophon would not be supporting our amendment. On that basis and in the spirit of facilitating passage of this legislation, given that the Greens had given me an indication that they would not be supporting our amendment, I did not call for a division because I did not want to waste the Senate’s time. That was based on the advice from Senator Carr in the conversation this morning. When I arrived in this chamber at 12.30 it was a coincidence. I did not know that this legislation would be coming up at 12.30 pm, because we had been advised that it would be coming up sometime after non-controversial legislation and that it should come up at a quarter past one. I had a private conversation across the chamber with Senator Carr, during which he advised me very explicitly that Senator Xenophon would not be proceeding with his amendment either. As it turns out that was untrue.

That is why I am putting it to the chamber that Senator Parry was being very generous by talking about the misunderstanding. We have had a history of this. This minister is so arrogant, is such a bully and is so aggressive that he cannot help himself. Even today, when we are here to help him facilitate this, he has come in as a bully boy again. Yesterday he was abusing my staff from this chamber. He was talking about people in my office not returning phone calls. That was untrue. I went back to my office and confirmed this, and I was very surprised but I was not going to pick on it again.

The first conversation my office had with anybody from the government on this legislation was on Tuesday night this week, when a lady called Rhonda—and I cannot remember her surname—called my office and ended up talking to an electorate officer. Because the electorate officer was not able to give a detailed explanation on the intent and breadth of the amendments we were about to make, she became quite rude and offensive and off she went. My chief of staff rang her back and there was never any suggestion that we would not be proceeding with the amendments, like the minister suggested. There was never any suggestion that we would be dealing with this matter in non-controversial legislation, because we think the amendments that we are moving and the amendment that Senator Xenophon is moving are important amendments that have to be properly considered. So there have been a lot of dodgy conversations going on, a lot of dodgy misrepresentation going on and a lot of bully tactics going on.

Minister, this is not the way to get cooperation in this chamber. We think it is an important piece of legislation. We are surprised that you are not prepared to entertain amendments that will make this better legislation. We understand that the way this legislation was introduced, all the way back in August last year, was as part of a political strategy for the Deputy Prime Minister. That legislation was introduced two days before she announced her trip to India. We know that was part of the political strategy. You have not progressed this over the last six to seven months. You have wasted weeks and weeks in this chamber with legislation you knew would never have the support of the Senate when you could have been dealing with this, which was much more important.

These are amendments which will be quite important to improve this piece of legislation. Clearly, your attitude to all of this is that you want to pass this legislation so you can be seen to be doing something without doing anything. The reason you will not be supporting these amendments is that you think it is going to cost us some money. You do not want to do anything that is going to cost the government some money. This is going to make a difference and protect overseas students who are stranded across Australia because of colleges that are collapsing on your watch, Minister. You do not want to put anything into this legislation that will actually make a tangible difference and ensure that the education providers out there are proper, professional providers—and not those cowboys that seem to collapse every couple of months—or to ensure sure that students who are caught up with cowboys are properly protected.

Minister, you can carry on with your bullying tactics. We were going to deal with this quite nicely, quite gently and in a speedy fashion; but if this is the way you want to play it, keep on playing and we will keep on playing with you. But I do not know that it is going to do you any favours and I do not think it is in the interests of the Australian people.