Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I withdraw the term ‘lie’, but I point out that Damien Mantach, a friend of Senator Abetz, had to admit in court that the Liberal party placed and wrote those advertisements for the Exclusive Brethren, having said previously that they had nothing to do with them and had no knowledge of them.

Returning to Senator Xenophon’s motion, it is inexcusable for this parliament to turn its back on group of people who are bringing forward allegations of not adhering to Commonwealth law. That is what I am asking about. I want to see occupational health and safety laws enforced in Australia. I want to see appropriate tax deductibility, tax exemptions and so on, because every time you have an organisation not paying tax there is a dollar less to be spent on health, welfare and all the things the community agrees we need to spend money on. If you say they should not pay tax then they should be able to demonstrate a public benefit. I think that is a reasonable expectation from the community.

I hear around this parliament that once again we are not going to have support for an investigation into the appropriateness of the tax law, we are not going to have an investigation into occupational health and safety practices, we are not going to have an investigation into not adhering to the laws in relation to fair remuneration in this country and we are not going to have an investigation into the adequacy of consumer protection. So I ask the government and the coalition to tell me how they are going to address these matters if we are not going to have a Senate inquiry. Saying, ‘Go to the police,’ is no good because if you go to the police you have to have evidence to get a conviction. But from where are you going to get people to come forward and give evidence, when clearly part of the allegation is that people are brainwashed and coerced and their families are harassed? If someone wants to give evidence, there is absolutely no doubt there will be other people inside the sect giving evidence against them—people reinforce all the fears and divisions that are going on in those communities. It is an unrealistic expectation and they know it, which is why we need to have a Senate inquiry into compliance with Australian law.

I think it is disgraceful and cowardly for the Senate not to support this motion, which seeks the law to be applied and which calls for an investigation into whether or not the law as it pertains to this matter is being applied in Australia and into the appropriateness of the law as it stands. I say to Senator Xenophon that I have been moving on every single tax law in relation to tax exemption for carbon sink forests. I suggest that he should join me on every single tax bill that comes through here from now on. He can join me. I will move mine on exemptions for carbon sink forests and he can move his on exemptions for this, and we will have this debate every time until the government or the coalition comes up with a suggestion about how they intend to deal with it if it is not going to be through a Senate inquiry.