Helen Kroger (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to explain why we are opposing this. It is the government that has changed the hours that the Senate is sitting. It is the government itself that has extended those sitting hours. It has included another week in November. It has done that in collusion with the Greens so that we can deal with the toxic carbon tax. It has provided for and allowed only 20 hours of debating time. That is time in which we believe that, in the interests of all Australians, we should be in this chamber and be giving due consideration, discussion, dialogue and scrutiny to it. We do not believe holding public hearings during the time that the carbon tax is being considered in this chamber to be in the interests of those who elected us to this place. So this is no reflection on our consideration of the importance of this public hearing, but we do believe if the government cannot get its act together and organise its business hours appropriately to allow for public hearings outside parliamentary sitting times then that is something that we should not support. We do not support it and the Greens should not support it. It is an indictment upon them that the Deputy Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties himself, Senator Simon Birmingham, will not be able to attend the public hearing because as the shadow parliamentary secretary for the environment he will be in this place. He will not be able to attend the hearing even though he is deputy chair. On that basis, we oppose this motion.

Question put:

That the motion (Senator McEwen's) be agreed to.

The Senate divided. [12:43]

(The President—Senator Hogg)

Senator Feeney did not vote, to compensate for the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Coonan.

Question agreed to.