Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Greens totally oppose extended sitting hours to force through the Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014. We do not believe we should be here in these two weeks abandoning action on global warming. I understand the Palmer United Party has reached an agreement with the government so the numbers exist to extend the sitting hours and force this through the parliament before we rise. It is a tragic outcome for Australia.

I totally reject as well Senator Fifield's assertion that the will of the people is reflected in this motion. I do not think the Australian people necessarily want the Qantas Sale Amendment Bill, which makes provisions to sell Qantas. I do not think people thought they were voting for the Asset Recycling Fund Bill—the privatise public assets bill. This is the Abbott government's agenda. It is not the will of the people. It is the Abbott government's agenda that is being put here and pushed through this parliament.

We are going to see the government, with the support of the Palmer United Party, try and repeal the mining tax. This week, after we have been absolutely lambasted by the government with the notion that there is a budget emergency, what are they doing? They are putting up legislation that will stop the nation receiving more than $20 billion worth of revenue. More than $20 billion will be stopped from coming into government coffers. Where is it going? It is going into the pockets of the big miners. Where is the money from the mining tax going? It is staying in the pockets of the big miners. They will not have to pay even though they have made record profits. Who will benefit as a result of abolishing the carbon price? The big polluters will benefit. Mr Palmer's own companies will benefit. Queensland Nickel will benefit. Not only that, 6c a litre extra will go back to the big miners. They must be sitting there, with their financial officers, smiling ear to ear.

But what the Australian community did not realise when they listened to the Abbott government talking about rejecting $18 billion coming into the public coffers is that the Australian people would have that money taken out of their pockets instead. So every time someone is confronted with the notion of a co-payment at the doctor, why is that? It is because Gina Rinehart has preference for the money to go back to her rather than to the Australian people. There is no budget emergency if a government can stand up and say it does not need $18 billion. It does not need it. It does not want it. Miners can have it. Big polluters can have it. The polluter pays principle is gone. The community can pay. The unemployed can pay. The sick can pay. The pensioners can pay. Everyone else can pay except the big end of town, and that is what is going on here.

So I totally reject this notional view from Senator Fifield that we are being asked to extend sitting hours to do the people's will. No, we are being asked to extend sitting hours so that the Abbott government, with the support of the Palmer United Party, can stop the big polluters having to pay for their pollution and can give back to the miners so that they do not have to pay any mining tax. And we will be sitting here with the Qantas Sale Amendment Bill and, just to add to the joy of it, the bill regarding so-called asset recycling, or rather the government's agenda to privatise assets.

The Greens are not going to have a bar of it. We did not want extended sitting hours, we do not support extended sitting hours, nor do we support having all these bills dealt with before we leave the Senate this week. I recognise the government has stitched up the numbers to be able to do this. But I want to say in the strongest possible terms this is not our agenda and we do not support it. I would like to hear from Senator Fifield, since we are being forced to sit here to deal with the government's agenda, on whether the House of Representatives is going to be held back so that it can deal with any amendments that come from the Senate. I would like to make sure that we get an undertaking that the House of Representatives will be held back to deal with this and we are not just being made to sit here to deliver on the government's agenda while the House of Representatives goes home.