Mary Fisher (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Sadly, it cost some lives—it cost the economy and it did not one jot for the environment. Indeed, arguably it cost the environment because much of the insulation put in then had to be taken out and much of that which was taken out is not biodegradable. This was from a government which takes pride in wham bam thank you ma'am, in wham bam thank you electorate—'Just give us our way.' This measure is all about sophistry to achieve a so-called surplus—that is what this measure is all about. 'Wham bam thank you ma'am; just get it through parliament so we can shower the cash on the electorate.' They want to be able to use this Senate to do their dirty deal again with the Greens—not unlike the dirty deal which this government did with the Greens at the eleventh hour in the House of Representatives as a means of getting passage of the bill to all but neuter the Australian Building and Construction Commission. Remember that dirty little amendment from the Greens in the House which made it so that, even where there is a breach of the industrial law in the building and construction industry, provided that one of the parties to that breach—for example, a perpetrator and another perpetrate or a perpetrator and a victim—reach agreement, reach a side deal, that would prevent the very much watered-down construction industry cop who is now housed in that house of repute, the one in which the Prime Minister places so much stock, Fair Work Australia? It means that Fair Work Australia cannot investigate any further and cannot prosecute just because a dirty little deal has been done on the site.

What is this government thinking, in passing and ensuring the passage of legislation of that nature? If this government really thinks that is good law, then why is it not trying to make it the same for the ACCC, to stop the ACCC prosecuting two parties who are in collusion but reach some side deal? Why is this government not making it so that the Australian Taxation Office cannot prosecute an alleged offender who might have reached a side deal? Because they know it is bad law. But they were at pains to make it so that the bad law was not subject to Senate committee scrutiny, just as they are at pains with yet again another deal, sponsored by the Greens, to make sure that this budgetary measure to achieve surplus sophistry is not subject to scrutiny by the Senate.