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

I have to say that I miss former Senator Arbib. In retrospect, his was a brief but glorious period as Manager of Government Business. We have just been subjected to a lecture, and let me sum it up in this way: that scrutiny of legislation in the parliament is a courtesy extended by the executive. That is essentially what Senator Collins said.

In all seriousness, I want to congratulate Senator Collins and also express some sympathy to her. This is Senator Collins's second day as Manager of Government Business, and she has been so quick out of the blocks to get a guillotine under her belt that she has done a hamstring. It really is an Olympic-class effort by Senator Collins. She has outdone her predecessor. As I said, Senator Arbib had the role for about a fortnight, and he was a much maligned hatchet man. I think he was often characterised in a very unfair way, but never in his two weeks as manager did he once put forward a guillotine—not once. Senator Collins has outdone him.

The thing that really struck me about what Senator Collins said in her contribution was that it is usual in the last few sitting days of a sittings period that there be some time management. Can I point out a basic fact to this chamber: today is the ninth sitting day of the year. We are not talking about the sitting week before the mid-year break. We are not talking about the final parliamentary sitting week or fortnight of the year. We are talking about the ninth sitting day of the parliamentary year. We can count that on our fingers: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. That is not very many days. We are not very far into the parliamentary year, yet already the government is crying and screaming that the opposition is being obstructionist, that the opposition is being difficult and that, heaven forbid, the opposition is availing itself of opportunities provided for by the standing orders, like MPIs. Shock, horror! What an outrage! Are we meant to feel chastised by Senator Collins that in some parliamentary years when Labor was in opposition it only had three or four MPIs? To me that says that those opposite were lazy. They were bone-lazy not to avail themselves of the opportunity, as a parliamentary opposition, to scrutinise the government of the day. They sat back and let those opportunities fly by. It seemed like too much hard work. We take very seriously the role of accountability in this chamber. We take it very seriously, and we make no apology for taking all of the opportunities that this parliament provides to give scrutiny to this government, whether it be through MPIs, question time, seeking to refer legislation to parliamentary committees or other forms of scrutiny. We will take each and every one of those opportunities.

This government could have debated some of the matters which are subject to this guillotine motion already this year. Even though we have only had nine days they could have debated the private health insurance rebate legislation previously. They could have debated that in the last sitting week but they did not list it. Why?—because they kept listing, time and again, the National Radioactive Waste Management Bill. More than 10 hours were spent debating that particular piece of legislation. You might have noticed, Deputy President, because you were in a chair for a fair bit of that, that the opposition did not have many speakers in that debate. It was essentially a Labor-Greens forum. No-one can accuse the opposition of having filibustered, talked that out or unnecessarily delayed that piece of legislation.

So, if this package of bills, which the government is so keen to get through so quickly, was so important to them they could have availed themselves of the opportunities provided by the previous nine sitting days in this place. They did not do so. So we cannot accept—we will not accept—the accusation that, on day 9 of the sitting of parliament for this year, for some reason it is the opposition's fault that the government's legislative program is in disarray. We will not cop that for a second.

I have to say this: this is one of the most extraordinary performances which I have seen from a manager. Usually that sort of confected outrage builds up over time, is savoured by a manager of government business and is delivered mid-way through the year or towards the end of the year. But this is a complete fabrication, which we will not accept for a second.

Senator Collins spoke about the role of the Senate and the opportunities that it provides but it is very curious that in the motion which is before us poor old Senator Xenophon loses his general business time. Let me let you in on a surprise Deputy President: the Australian Greens do not lose their general business time according to this motion! Poor old Senator Xenophon cops it in the neck but we know that nothing happens in this place without Australian Greens approval. Their time is preserved.