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

What we have here is the government showing absolute contempt for the Senate again and, this time, trying to ram through the Senate by tonight a deal that the government has done with the Palmer United Party to ram through Direct Action, which has nothing to do with reducing emissions and everything to do with the big polluters getting their sticky fingers on taxpayers' money to spend on more grants programs for themselves.

The fact of the matter is that normally a deal like this would go through a Senate committee for an assessment of what it actually means. The minister says it will reduce emissions. There is no evidence for that. RepuTex says it will not. Sinclair Knight Merz say it will not. Monash University say it will not. They have the figures. The Climate Change Authority says it will not. But, no, the government says it will, and it will not go to a Senate committee. There will be no examination of any of the claims.

What is even more farcical is this. I asked for the PUP amendments. Where are these amendments for the deal? The senators from the Palmer United Party do not have the amendments, do not even know what they are and say they will not know until Clive gives to them what they are going to be putting through today. So we have everyone here—