Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Hansard source

As the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, my colleague Senator Wong, outlined, it has not been a good nine months for the Attorney-General, Senator Brandis. The three blunders that have been highlighted today through questioning by the opposition make that very clear. It has not been a good time at all. Yet this reckless, arrogant attempt by Senator Brandis to meddle in other minister's portfolios, and to meddle in his own portfolio and not have any success, continues to go from bad to worse. He would try to make the public and us believe that everything is fine, that the remarks he has made are supported. We know clearly that they are not supported, and now he is finding himself in the position of having to backtrack on almost every single blunder he has made, whether it be in relation to trying to repeal or change, or whatever it is he is trying to do, sections 18C and 18D of the Racial Discrimination Act, or whether it be in relation to his comments regarding the Williams No. 2 case, where he regarded it being erroneous and ignorant to suggest that case had implications for Commonwealth programs other than the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program, or whether it is his meddling now in Minister Julie Bishop's portfolio in relation to his comments regarding East Jerusalem.

Just last week we saw the head of the Palestinian delegation to Australia, Mr Izzat Abdulhadi, who relayed to the ABC that the meeting they had with Minister Bishop did not resolve the confusion. That is why the question was put to Senator Brandis again today. It was to give him yet another opportunity to explain what he was on about during Senate estimates when he made his remarks. On one hand we have Minister Bishop making it very clear that the government's position has not changed, that the government supports UN Security Council Resolution 242 and various other UN resolutions. But then all of those resolutions, as we know, do use the term 'occupied'. So is Senator Brandis out of step with Minister Bishop? What is going on in the government when it comes to this? What clearly seems to be going on is that those in the executive are having to gag Senator Brandis for his remarks. Indeed, he has made quite a blunder that now has affected our trade relations with the Arab nations.

And it seems that Senator Brandis is losing more and more support by the day when it comes to other areas within his own portfolio. I refer, of course, to the Racial Discrimination Act. The question clearly put by Senator Furner was about Project 18C and the rise of local government. Local government, of course, is the level of government that is at the grassroots, the coalface, of the community. It has seen the outpouring of condemnation for the changes that Senator Brandis wants to put forward—or is proposing or whatever it may be. They do not want to change. A number of these local government councils are in Liberal-held electorates. When will this government listen to the people? When will it start to recognise that there is no support for Senator Brandis's changes? I mean, some of Senator Brandis's own backbench are willing to cross the floor on the proposed changes that he has out there for comment. And there are some 5,500 submissions. Is he just going to ignore them? We know he will not release them, because he does not want us to be made aware of the outcry of condemnation for the changes that he is proposing to put in place. He is a libertarian, he believes in free speech, but he will not release those submissions. We have not had any legislation brought forward, clearly because Senator Brandis does not have the support of the executive and the backbench. It has been nearly six months now, and still there is no legislation. It shows clearly that Senator Brandis is out of touch not only with the Australian community but with his own Liberal Party. (Time expired)