Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Certainly, Mr Acting Deputy President. So we are left with an MRRT that has essentially raised no revenue, a budget that remains deeply in deficit—despite Julia Gillard's promise to have a surplus in 2013—and a government that has absolutely no idea how to restore Australia to fiscal health. Much more could be said about these two particular bills and the devastating effects they have had not just on the budget but certainly on the economy in Western Australia and, more importantly, on the business confidence of those who want to invest in resource development in our country.

In my final comments, I want to reflect, yet again, on the rushed process that has beset the Senate over the first two days of the last sitting week of the 43rd Parliament. It is worth reflecting briefly on some key facts. It is worth pointing out that, in the last week, the coalition facilitated the passage of 23 pieces of legislation through the Senate. It is worth reflecting that, when the coalition controlled the Senate, just 32 bills were guillotined in those three years. When we compare that with the last three years of this government, we see that 215 bills will have been guillotined by the end of the 43rd Parliament. Of these, 54 bills will have been guillotined in this week, with 48 of those debated for just one hour, and 30 of those 48 bills debated for just 30 minutes. I will restrict my comments to that, to allow my colleague Senator Ryan, from Victoria, to make his contribution before the guillotine falls on this set of bills.