Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The Federation of this country was never founded on these sorts of constitutional arrangements. Nowhere in the constitutional debates will you find any reference to a state or a territory government being held to account by a Commonwealth government—nowhere will that be found.

The Labor Party will live to regret this. Senator Robert Ray, for all his faults, was right about one thing in politics: what goes around comes around. What is going to happen in the end is other places and other parliaments—

Senator Cameron interjecting—

It is true, Senator Cameron—other parliaments, at other times and in other places will adopt this precedent and when they do our democracy will be weaker. And it will have started right here today. That is what gets me—I understand why the Palmer United Party are doing this, I understand why the Greens are doing it, but for the Australian Labor Party, Australia's oldest political party, to fall for this constitutional travesty is an absolute disgrace. The Federation debates that your party participated in never, ever foresaw this.

Senator Wong interjecting—

Senator Wong, you never foresaw this. You will wear this, the Australian Labor Party, because it is an important matter of constitutional principle. You have given up the principle of probity of parliaments. You have given up a constitutional prerogative and a constitutional assumption. You have given that up. You have given it up for a cheap and pathetic motion on a Tuesday afternoon in the Senate. You are prepared to mortgage principle for that. It is an absolute disgrace and God help the Labor Party in the future.

Debate interrupted.