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

I also want to support Senator Ludlam's motion. I say to Senator Ludlam: what Senator Carr has done here today is arrogance to the top degree. I cannot understand why Senator Ludlam allows that to continue. It was the Greens political party along with Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor who, when they agreed to support Ms Gillard as Prime Minister, made so much about accountability and the new paradigm of how the chambers would operate. It is within the power of the Greens to make that happen, but the Greens as ever are big on the rhetoric but, when it comes to the crunch, they will never do anything that in any way will impact adversely on their left-wing colleagues in the Labor Party.

I cannot believe that Senator Ludlam, who is a mature person and has been here a few years, can give Senator Carr notice that he requires an answer and Senator Carr just walks out arrogantly. I have been in this chamber a long time through previous Labor governments and through 11 years of the Howard government. Ministers would always stay and give an explanation of why they have not been able to table answers on notice. For Senator Carr to demonstrate that sort of arrogance is one thing, but for Senator Ludlam and his colleagues in the Greens political party to simply acquiesce in that is very difficult for me to understand. Senator Ludlam has the ability to do something about it but the Greens seem incapable of doing it.

I conclude by pleading with the Greens. I very seldom agree with anything they do, but the idea that they would support Gillard in exchange for a bit of democracy, honesty and integrity in the chamber and the way it operates was something that I thought was in order. The current group of ministers in the Labor Party simply ignore all the rules and standing orders and bylaws of the chamber and are a law unto themselves. I indicate—and this is not a criticism of the President because I do not criticise the President—that the way every minister in the Labor Party cannot and does not answer a question is just an appalling breach of standing orders. Again, the Greens political party will not do something about the way these ministers arrogantly treat this chamber.

This chamber is an elected chamber and the Labor ministers treat it with contempt and that is the way this government treats Australians. I urge the Greens political party to follow their rhetoric and insist upon ministers in this chamber at least discharging their duties as they should and being responsible and accountable to the elected members of this chamber.