Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

It is great to see you re-elected as President, Senator Hogg. You did an admirable job before and you are widely held with respect across the chamber—or it seems that most of us thought you did a very good job. I wish you very well in your deliberations in the coming period. We have already had Senator Brown say that we are part of a minority, which means that he must be part of a majority—so he is obviously part of the government, which is clear to see. We hope that we will be able to make sure that you can keep up your exemplary record of never throwing any of us out of the chamber—mind you, there is always an opportunity for you to break from tradition.

The National Party is quite happy to work in an effective coalition. We feel that that has been the most effective form of government in postwar Australia. As such, we will not be playing any sort of charade by putting up a candidate for deputy. We have obviously had discussions with regard to who it will be, and we are very comfortable with the job that they will do.