Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

As I was saying before those opposite tried to drown me out, this is a government that is out of control. It has lost control of its agenda. Indeed, we had the spectacle of the Labor Party insisting that we discuss all manner of things because they did not have any genuine legislation to go ahead. Now, as the parliament is about to rise, they have all of a sudden discovered that they might be able to squeak through some legislation, and they have already voted for the gag. This is the new paradigm that the Greens signed up to with the Labor-Green alliance: there would be transparency; there would be no motions to gag debate. But that is exactly what the Greens tried to do. When they could not do it, their lapdogs in the Labor Party did it for them. The Labor-Green alliance is well and truly on foot.

The bizarre thing is that this motion to extend the sitting hours today is being moved and supported by the Australian Greens, who had the audacity to come in here and move a motion that calls today Go Home On Time Day. What absolute nonsense. What absolute hypocrisy. But, with the Australian Greens, consistency has never been their strong suit. They will say one thing and then immediately do the exact opposite—