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

If ever the Australian people wanted a display of a government in disarray, they have seen it early this afternoon in a motion moved by the Manager of Government Business in the Senate. This is a government that has set a very, very short timetable for parliamentary sittings. This is a government that had the National Broadband Network legislation on the red—which is, for want of a better term, the Senate agenda—on Monday. We were ready to debate it on Monday, with Senator Birmingham making a very, very good contribution at 10 am on Monday morning. Why was the bill not progressed?

Senator Conroy comes into this place and asserts that the bill was not progressed because of opposition filibustering. That is false, untrue and incorrect. It was the Labor government that pulled this legislation off the agenda. They refused to continue the debate. We now know why. It was because they were in disarray. They had to get these 25 pages of amendments, which were dumped on the table at 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon. The Greens and others who always say that this Senate is the place that ought to analyse matters very carefully—that we have to exercise due diligence—are now prepared for these 25 pages of amendments to be rushed through this place without proper analysis and examination.

Some of the matters in these amendments are of considerable note. Indeed, it was once again interesting to hear from the minister responsible for this debacle, Senator Conroy, what a Telstra board wanted and what other people wanted. Telstra and Optus are both on the record as having indicated a deep concern with division 16 amendments, which essentially opened the way for the NBN to almost entirely cut out the ACCC from supervising some of its most important operating decisions. Telstra and Optus are expressing concern. So why does the government want to rush this through? It is so that the community and the companies will not have the capacity to inform the Australian people—especially the crossbenchers—of their concerns about these amendments. They want it rushed through so that there cannot be a genuine and proper community debate.

We in this opposition are concerned that the NBN, like pink batts, like border protection, like everything this government touches, has turned from gold to dust. That is what happens with this government. No matter what it touches, it ends up as a debacle. Here it had legislation pulled that was allegedly so important, and now there are 20-plus pages of amendments that we are supposed to deal with in less than 24 hours. I wonder if the delay in the government putting these amendments on the table is because it needed the permission of the Australian Greens to be able to progress and proceed with these amendments. I do not know what the reason is, but it is a disgrace, and it shows a government that, might I add, cannot even keep the numbers that it is required to in this chamber. The government has one Labor senator in this place as we speak. That is how importantly it treats the Senate. That is the sort of disrespect with which it treats the Senate. And yet it says we have to somehow take our responsibilities seriously. If the government took its responsibilities seriously, it might actually have two senators in their places as it is required to—and it is good to see a Labor senator finally strolling in to achieve that outcome.

The amendments are of fundamental importance to the NBN. We as an opposition are entitled to examine them very carefully and very closely. Another of the matters that the amendments will deal with is that the ACCC will lose any power over bundling of services by the NBN. The ACCC will lose any power over cross-subsidisation of services by the NBN. These are amendments of great and considerable moment, and this is a Labor Party and Greens alliance that now says, ‘Forget about the scrutiny; we just want to ram it through.’

We have seen a government in disarray over the last few years. Just when you think it might get better, it just gets worse. It unravels even further. The minister says that the NBN is providing double the download and faster speeds. It is a pity the minister cannot do that for himself in his own portfolio and come with these amendments in a timely period to this parliament so that we can actually examine them. Basically, I think he wants the broadband speed of just a dump and run and not to be concerned with the consequences. Well, we will not cop it on behalf of the Australian people. The Australian people are now finding out every single day about this broadband debacle. Whilst it sounded good in theory during the last election campaign, as they are analysing it day by day they realise the huge faults with it. Indeed, these 20-plus pages of amendments considerably negate that which was in the original legislation. That is the concerning aspect of this. The government announces legislation with a whole host of fanfare and says, ‘This is good legislation that ought to be passed.’ It then takes it off the Notice Paper, has to give us 25 pages of amendments and then says it has to be rushed through.

This is a government that went to the Australian people saying ‘no carbon tax’. We are now going to be subjected to a carbon tax if it has its way. This is the same government that told us, ‘If there is a carbon tax, there will be huge tax deductions for average Australians,’ and it ran that line for a week. Today, courtesy of the newspapers, we now know that it will not be doing that either. That is why we as an opposition know that this government has form on misleading the Australian people day after day, week after week, month after month. The longer this government goes for, the more the Australian people are asking about its integrity.

This is just another example of why those questions are right and proper and should be asked. So we as an opposition will be opposing this legislation, and I can indicate to the government: if they want legislation by exhaustion, be our guest, because we will join them hour after hour, day after day if need be, because this is a matter of great moment. This should have gone to a Senate committee for the consideration of these 25 pages of amendments. If the government and the Greens conspire to ensure that that does not occur, we will undertake a very close examination—a very, very detailed examination—to ensure that the necessary matters are fully ventilated. But the proper way to do this would be to refer these pages and pages of amendments to the Senate committee for due consideration and report back to the Senate before we deal with the legislation. The opposition will be opposing the motion.