Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Then, unfortunately, despite the bipartisan talk from those opposite, Senator Heffernan decided that he knew more than everybody else in the coalition put together.

Senator Heffernan interjecting—

There are days, Senator Heffernan, where that is true. But this was not one of them, I am afraid. Senator Heffernan suddenly decided that the bill is silent on salt. The legislation is dodgy—that is what Senator Heffernan said. The lower house passed this bill without having discovered that there is a serious hole in it, and on the weight of that and others—like looking at the problem of salt as it affects water without looking at the impact of salt as it affects land and its use—is a serious oversight for which we should forgive ourselves and move the amendment and get on with it.

He went on to say:

I am sorry, but you will not find land or its use anywhere in the statement you have just read, and without that this parliament would look ridiculous.

So the weight of Senator Heffernan's contribution in the chamber moved the entire Liberal-National Party coalition from bipartisan support to supporting Senator Heffernan's amendments.