Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I always wonder why people get up to speak for the last 50 seconds when they have said nothing else in the previous 19 minutes and 10 seconds before it.

But anyhow, the MRRT has always been a mystery. Was that, 'Marius' and Rio's rort tax'? Or was it the, 'must-remove-Rudd tax'? What exactly was it? How did we come to this position? This was what brought about the removal of Mr Rudd with the replacement by Ms Gillard. It was all there.

I remember the time and I remember the person, but, I can never quite remember him being elected to parliament—Paul Howes. He is not a member of parliament so what do I call him? I suppose 'Howesy'—I do not know what you call him. Mate? My mate? When 'the mate' turned up; he has never actually gone to that table and sworn an oath. He has never actually held the Bible or the Constitution in his hand. He is not actually accountable to the parliament. The Australian people have never voted for him, but somehow at the time of this mining resource rent tax—I am trying to get it right—he was instrumental in changing the makeup of our nation.

It has always perplexed me how people manage to do that when they are never actually elected to parliament. But he is back again, by the way; he is back again! The other day we heard that he has 'got her back'. I do not know if he has 'got her back' like she was lost and she has come back—he lost her down the park somewhere and he has got her back. Anyway, he has 'got her back', which means once more he is instructing the way the parliament works.

So that is Mr Paul Howes—never elected to this parliament. I must admit a man who likes to run with the fox and hunt with the hounds is Mr Paul Howes.

This is really a test on so many levels. This motion today is also going to test the Australian Greens, who in the previous week said, 'This is it. It's over. The marriage is over. We're out of the house.' Well, now it is: 'Hang on, we're back today.' They are actually supporting them. Senator Collins came down here to talk to them and Senator Conroy came down here to talk to them. And today they are going to support the Labor Party in keeping the whole thing that they said they were upset about. They will not support this motion.

I always find it fascinating when I go back and grab some of the things that Senator Milne has said. She said this at the press conference:

Labor refuses point blank to fix the loopholes in their dud of a mining tax that has only raised $126 million of a supposed $2 billion …

How true—a Daniel come to judgement! How true that is. She said it is forgoing the revenue needed for key reforms, including implementing Gonski—and you believe in Gonski, don't you?; the National Disability Insurance Scheme—now that is something that is worthwhile; Denticare; and building high-speed rail—though and I do not know about that. All those promises, by the way, add up to $365 billion over the next 10 years. They are a very rational party, the Greens! The way they were going to pay for that $365 billion was apparently out of the mining tax, but the mining tax is a dud—and today we have a motion saying that the mining tax is a dud. If this motion is passed, the government will not fail, the government will not fall over and the government will go on. So it is really just a question about the Greens: are they fair dinkum or are they hypocrites?

Senator Jacinta Collins interjecting—

If something goes wrong, Senator Collins, you know that you should wander down here and reorganise the marriage. You have been doing that today, and others have been reorganising the marriage today. It is going to be fascinating to see if they renew their vows today for a whole new sunny outland of matrimonial bliss for the Greens and Labor—who have only been separated for a week but are back into it. So congratulations and I would like to thank you on behalf of all of us for getting the marriage back together again!