Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration) Share this | Hansard source

It does hurt when you get caught out being hypocritical. It does hurt. Senator Milne jumps up to take a point of order in relation to the fact that the Greens are the political party on record as accepting the largest political donation ever made in the Australia's history. Let us say that again in case they forget: it was the largest political donation made in Australia's history—a donation of not half a million dollars, not $1 million, not $1.5 million but $1.6 million. So, when the Greens want to stand up in this place and pontificate about the actions of those on this side of the chamber, sometimes a little bit of humility is all that is needed, because each time the Greens stand up and pontificate, we will remind them of what they said in 2006 as to the guillotine under the Howard government.

What they are doing to do is undertaking a complete transformation, and we all know why: because of their grubby little duplicitous deal with the Australian Labor Party. When the Australian Greens jump up, as they often do, to talk about hypocrisy and duplicity in relation to political donations, we will take the opportunity to remind them that they speaketh with forked tongue. Just to remind them—in case they have forgotten—they are the political party to accept the largest donation in Australia's political history, a donation of $1.6 million from Mr Graham Wood. Let us see what they accept this time round. I know that Senator Hanson-Young currently has an advertisement going around saying that she had to raise $50,000 overnight in relation to our campaign. Mr Adam Bandt also has a campaign going around saying that he wants a few hundred thousand dollars. For a party that says that the acceptance of donations for political campaigns is not on, that to me is hypocrisy, hypocrisy, hypocrisy.

And that is what we are seeing from the Greens today in relation to this motion. When the divisions bell go, the Greens will stay on that side of the chamber. What they said during the former Howard government—and it is on record; Hansard is littered with examples of the Greens jumping up and saying, 'This is a house of review; don't forget that.' All of that will go out the window as they sit with the Australian Labor Party and vote to guillotine 55 pieces of legislation, pieces of legislation that should be aired. This is a failure of due process. (Time expired)