Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am sorry, Mr Deputy President. This has been an ongoing problem for this parliament and this chamber. Senator Brown attracts eight or nine per cent of the vote. What the people who support the Greens want to know is whether the Greens are an environment party, a green party, or whether they are an anti-Semitic, extreme Labor party—more than Labor; more than Dougie Cameron; he is to the left but the Greens are to the left of the left of the left of the Left. We have to know, and this is why this motion of censure has to be put to the Senate. It is going to be interesting to see where the Labor Party goes on this. I know they are going to be stuck between a rock and hard place. I hope they have the courage of their convictions and vote the same way as they voted in the last motion. I have warned the Labor Party time and time again. In fact the last time I warned them I said: 'Your vote is going down like a lift. You're on 34 per cent. It's time you stood up to the Greens. It's time you threw out the anchor. It's time to reclaim your own territory.' There was no acceptance of me warning them. Now their vote is down to 25 per cent or, if you take the Greens two per cent that has been transferred, it is 27 per cent. You are going down like a brick. You have been warned to disassociate yourselves from the Greens and you are paying the price now because you will not take any notice of the warning.

We need this motion to be determined by this parliament of whether the Greens should be censured for the racist, anti-Semitic carryings-on over the last six months when their members of parliament have addressed anti-Israel rallies. We want to know what the parliament wants and whether the parliament condemns them. I certainly condemn them. I believe the parliament should condemn them in the strongest possible terms.