Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Hansard source

What I say now has nothing to do with the Territories Law Reform Bill because we do not get onto that, Senator Brown—if you would only read the motions that you have just supported—until after your 23rd gag today. Fancy that: the Greens are listed in the pages of Hansard opposing gags—I certainly hope the voters of Victoria understand this, because the Greens portray themselves as the upholders of the parliament and the democratic institution—and here they are against everything they have said for as long as they have been in parliament. Ever since they have been here, they have railed against gagging debate, and here they are, 23 times this morning, with the support of Senator Xenophon and Senator Fielding, trying to gag proper debate. Because they are not listening to my speech now, they are going to gag debate on the AirportsAmendment Bill 2010, the Tax Laws Amendment (Confidentiality of Taxpayer Information) Bill 2010 and the Radiocommunications Amendment Bill 2010—bills that we cannot start debating, according to Senator Brown’s motion, until noon on Friday.

What the Greens, the Labor Party and the Independents are effectively doing is curtailing debate on the Airports Amendment Bill, the Tax Laws Amendment (Confidentiality of Taxpayer Information) Bill, the Radiocommunications Amendment Bill, the Family Law Amendment (Validation of Certain Parenting Orders and Other Measures) Bill, the Corporations Amendment (Sons of Gwalia) Bill, the Health Insurance Amendment (Pathology Requests) Bill, the Therapeutic Goods Amendment (2010 Measures No. 1) Bill and—the one that I am particularly interested in—the Territories Law Reform Bill, where the opposition will be moving a substantial number of amendments. Clearly, under the table of time that the government and the Greens have imposed upon us we are not going to be able to meet those—