Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Hansard source

I was not intending to contribute on Senator Ludlam's motion regarding Senator Conroy, but I was inspired by Senator Macdonald to do so and indeed inspired out of deep concern about the pattern of behaviour that Senator Ludlam's motion highlights with regard to Senator Conroy and the approach that he and his office take to the answering of questions.

Senator Ludlam may come into this chamber today and complain that Senator Conroy's office and Senator Conroy have failed to answer questions in a timely manner, but this is hardly the first occasion on which such a failure has occurred. We have had countless instances, both through the chamber and in particular through the Senate estimates process, where Senator Conroy has proven himself to be a serial offender in failing to answer questions in a timely manner or within the time limit set by the standing orders for this chamber or by the committees with regard to the return of questions on notice.

I can recall sitting in Senate estimates committees where Senator Conroy has provided answers to questions that had been asked three, four or five months previously—and he has done so not weeks, not days, not even hours before the committee is to meet again but while the committee is meeting. While the committee is meeting, some months after the preceding Senate estimates, we get answers to questions asked at the previous Senate estimates. It is a completely contemptuous approach, a terrible precedent that this minister sets as the Leader of the Government in the Senate for all his fellow ministers in terms of the standards that they should be adhering to in being accountable to the parliament. That is what questions are for—a level of accountability, accountability through questions without notice and questions on notice in this chamber and of course accountability through the Senate estimates processes.

On all of these levels, Senator Conroy is a demonstrated failure. He fails in this place to give answers to the questions that are asked of him, he fails to answer questions on notice in any sort of timely way and he fails abysmally to provide any type of answer in relation to Senate estimates proceedings. I am pleased that Senator Ludlam has called Senator Conroy out today and brought attention to this one instance, but I would hate for anybody to leave here thinking it is just one instance. There are many other instances that Senator Conroy and other ministers in this government are guilty of, and it is to their shame, just as it is to the shame of the Australian Greens that it is only now, in the dying days of this government, that they have started to highlight such failures on the government's part.

Question agreed to.