Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move a motion relating to the hours of meeting and routine of business for today.

Leave not granted.

Pursuant to contingent notice standing in the name of the Leader of the Government in the Senate, I move:

That so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent me moving a motion to provide for the consideration of a matter, namely a motion to give precedence to a motion relating to the hours of meeting and routine of business for today.

Today promises to be another great day in the Australian Senate. Today the Australian Senate will ensure that Australia takes another giant step forward in making sure that we pursue sensible policy to protect the environment while also encouraging and driving stronger economic growth.

Of course, what the Australian people will be able to witness again is Senator Milne having led the Australian Greens into the desert—having led the Australian Greens into complete irrelevance—because, of course, here we are dealing with a central matter of economic and environmental policy, and the Greens are standing on the sidelines. The Palmer United Party, the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party and all of the crossbenchers other than the Greens political party are engaged in working with the government in finding common ground in the national interest and in making progress so that Australia can do its bit to help ensure that we reduce emissions in an economically responsible way. We have the opportunity today to give effect to the direct action policy that the coalition has taken now to two elections. What do the Australian Greens do under the leadership of Senator Milne, who of course is the Greens leader and who is advocating for regular reductions in the real value of the excise on fuel? We have a Greens leader now who has completely moved away from anything the Greens have stood for, which is why we all now understand that Adam Bandt is out there doing the numbers and the background briefings and letting everybody know that, if he were Leader of the Greens, he would be working with the government constructively in order to achieve sensible public policy outcomes—and no doubt in the not-too-distant future the Greens will have to make a decision on how to deal with that particular internal dynamic.

The Greens are deeply divided internally. The Greens have lost their focus on what actually matters, even from their own point of view. The Greens have let their supporters down. That is of course why the Greens are not prepared to give leave this morning for this rearrangement of the order of business, the routine of business and the hours of meeting for today. The Greens still want to stand in the way of achieving sensible public policy outcomes in the national interest, ensuring that we can reduce emissions here in Australia in an economically responsible way, providing positive incentives to businesses and individuals across Australia and encouraging them to contribute to emissions reductions moving forward.

The government is very grateful for the constructive engagement by, in particular, the Palmer United Party, the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party and, on this occasion, Senator Madigan and Senator Xenophon. We look forward to the opportunity to debate in some detail later today, subject to the Senate agreeing to the proposed suspension so that we can deal with the variation in business hours and with the variation of the routine of business for today. I commend this motion that I have just moved on behalf of the government to the Senate.