Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

You should learn, Senator Farrell, never to interject when someone is praising you. You should just accept it in good spirit and with good grace because my support for you in this respect is most genuine, particularly as you have been so terribly betrayed by the Left in your own party. Notwithstanding the fact that I think you have a great deal to contribute, they do not think so.

Let us return to this legislation. Senator Farrell, you are absolutely aware that this has been a Liberal-National coalition policy approach for a very long time. It was stymied while you were in government, but right now the new government is preparing its own legislation. So putting up your own bill is particularly opportunistic. I understand that you are trying to score some political points, but the fact is that we are in the process of drafting and introducing our own bill.

This is not about playing politics. I am not saying we particularly disagree with you, but we do see some flaws in this bill and I think you accept that and acknowledge it. But I support you—