Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I want to add my voice of opposition to this motion by the Greens and the Labor Party to cut three days off the sitting time of this parliament. Heaven knows, this is one of the shortest parliamentary years we have had on record. Clearly the Labor Party and the Greens do not want parliamentary debate because they have no interest in democracy. It is clear as well that one of the reasons is that Labor Party politicians, and particularly the Greens politicians, want to head off to Durban to swan around the stage at the COP17 meeting on climate change. Senator Hanson-Young interjected on me before, indicating that Senator Brown, Senator Milne and whoever else from the Greens are not going on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. They are not going until the following week and they are paying their own way over there.

Well, I look forward to their contribution to this debate so they can put on record their argument against suggestions that I and others have made that cancelling three days of parliament is all about the Greens political party getting ready to head off to Durban to wander the world stage on climate change issues. We know that is going to be a farce. The intergovernmental panel that started this off a few years ago was reported this week as coming back on their forecasts of climate change. In fact, the headlines are saying 'climate forecasts have been overstated'.

What has been said by the Greens and the Labor Party for many years about the importance of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which leads to this further junket that we will see next week and the following week, is all based—a bit like the carbon tax itself—on exaggerated comments and on lies in the case of this conference. It is based on what are now said to be exaggerated climate forecasts. I look forward to hearing the Greens tell us when they are going to Durban. Tell us it is not next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Tell us it is not because you want to head off to Durban that you are cutting three days off the parliamentary year.

The debate in the last few weeks has been guillotined by the Labor Party and the Greens political party. The normal debate that we would have on 20 bills has been not only reduced but also cancelled. We passed 20 bills during this week with not one word being said on them—not one word in favour of the bills, not one word in argument, not one question answered, and no scrutiny allowed of a government which, dear me, requires a lot of scrutiny. Not one piece of scrutiny was allowed by the Greens political party and the Australian Labor Party.

Senator Ludlam interjecting —

I hear 'let's get on to the bill'. Senator Ludlam, why not sit next week so we can discuss these bills?

Senator Hanson-Young interjecting—

I think Senator Hanson-Young said 'more people should be listening to this debate' and I agree with her. (Quorum formed) While we were waiting for the Labor Party, which prior to this had two people in the chamber listening to this important debate—that shows what an arrogant government we have—I heard the Manager of Government Business berating our manager about curtailing this debate. I heard the Manager of Government Business, Senator Ludwig, issue a threat: 'If you want to debate this bill, we are going to guillotine it as well.' This is just typical—