Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

It depends. Who knows? You might call a snap poll. There might not be a half Senate election, Senator Ludwig. That is what should happen. If the government will not discharge this legislation, at the very least they should take it to an election to see what the will of the voting public is, an opportunity that has been denied to the voting public. Senator Ludwig said that we on this side of the chamber do not want to debate the substantive issue, that we only want to debate procedural issues. The whole purpose of this motion is about the substantive issue—that is, the voting public have not had an opportunity to debate the merits of a carbon tax. That is the substantive issue that we are champing at the bit to get into, but we are champing at the bit to get into it in the form of an election.

Senator Cash mentioned that she had been out collecting anti-carbon-tax signatures on a petition. I have also been doing that. Over the last half-a-dozen or so mornings I have been out at the Berwick shops in the electorate of La Trobe, Ms Smyth's electorate, and I was basically bowled over in the rush of people saying: 'Let me put my signature on the petition. How do we get rid of this government? How do we stop that carbon tax?' I can tell you the electors of Latrobe feel that Ms Smyth has deceived them and they want her gone. I have also done the same thing at Mordialloc shops on a Saturday morning in the electorate of Mr Dreyfus, the seat of Isaacs. It was the same thing: I was bowled over in the rush of people saying, 'Where do I sign? How do we stop this government? How do we stop this carbon tax?'

The same thing happened at the Dingley Village shops in Mr Crean's electorate of Hotham. Again, I was bowled over in the rush by people asking: 'How do we stop this carbon tax? How do we get rid of this government? Just show me where to sign.' The same thing happened at the Cranbourne shops on a Saturday morning in Mr Byrne's electorate of Holt. I was bowled over in the rush by people saying: 'Where do I sign? How do we get rid of this government? How do we stop the carbon tax?' The voting public do not feel that they have had the opportunity to have their say—that is clear.

I should confess to the chamber that I did not make it to the reception for Her Majesty the Queen in the Great Hall the other Friday night, not because I did not want to be there but because I had a prior commitment to attend an anti-carbon tax rally in Cheltenham in the seat of Isaacs. I was joined by Senator Cormann, who wanted to put the case against a carbon tax; Mr Robb, the member for Goldstein, who co-hosted the forum; and the Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources, Mr O'Brien, who was there to talk about the devastating effect of a carbon tax on the people of Victoria. So stunned was the member for Isaacs by that public forum that he submitted an opinion piece to Fairfax online. He referred to it as a 'circus of lies and misinformation'. Never let your opponents know you are getting to them, but thank you, Mr Dreyfus, for doing that. He said in his opinion piece that only 90 people turned up. I have to say that 90 people on a Friday night in Cheltenham is pretty significant. That is a pretty leading indicator of what the voting public think.

The evidence is in. We do not need polls. Those of us who talk to our communities have the field evidence. The public feel that they were fibbed to. This should be delayed until after an election.

Question put:

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

The Senate divided. [11:21]

(The President—Senator Hogg)

Question negatived.