Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Dastyari said, 'Well, we can all play games.' Well, let him speak for himself because on this side of the chamber we are not playing games. We are seeking to defend robust policy development and certainty for an important sector of the Australian economy. This coalition made clear two years ago what its position was in relation to FoFA. All we have sought to do since we came into government, through the efforts of Minister Cormann four months ago, was to seek to give effect to our election commitment.

The opposition has been doing nothing but playing games all day. This morning, in abrogation of the accepted protocols in this place, the opposition sought to take away government business time. Three hours of government business time was taken up by the debate put forward by those opposite to seek to bring on the FoFA disallowance. It is the accepted principle in this place that government business time should be there for the government to determine those things that are transacted. The opposition sought to deny us that opportunity. But I did say this morning—and I think the words bear repeating—that what we are witnessing here is nothing more than Senator Dastyari's vanity project.

This pursuit of this disallowance motion is his big attempt to demonstrate to his peers and to this chamber that he is more than just a backroom boy from New South Wales. This is his attempt to try to demonstrate to his colleagues and to this chamber that he is a serious policy guy. But he is nothing of the sort. He is a wrecker. He is seeking to cause grief and concern to an important sector of the Australian economy. I know he dresses it up as though he is just chasing the big banks, chasing the big financial institutions. Mr President, let me tell you who he is, in fact, seeking to cause damage and harm to: it is the thousands upon thousands of small business operators. Many of them are sole operators who are in the financial services advice business. That is who Senator Dastyari is really targeting. I think it is important for the chamber to recognise that.

We have also seen something a little unusual today. Usually an opposition are chomping at the bit to get every possible question they can in question time. But, no, not even on the day that Malcolm Turnbull has made a significant announcement in relation to funding of the ABC and SBS can they bring themselves to form enough questions to pursue those particular issues. Senator Dastyari's vanity project takes precedence over all these things. That is really what the suspension of standing orders seeks to do. It is to let Senator Dastyari's vanity take precedence over all other Senate business. Well, we on this side of the chamber actually do not think that is a reasonable proposition. We do not think that Senator Dastyari has, indeed, made a case as to why standing orders should be suspended. It is actually a very significant decision for the Senate chamber to take to suspend standing orders. We do not think that that case has been made.

We actually think that question time is an important accountability mechanism, which is why in these additional three Senate sitting days that were put in place this week, as we knew that we were here for the three speeches by heads of government in the other place, we thought it important that we actually did some work while we were here. The Australian Labor Party, of course, opposed the three extra sitting days, because we know that they work to rule. They do not want to work any extra hours beyond the usual. But we thought that it was important, with the three extra sitting days, to make sure there was a question time because we think that when the Senate sits there should be a question time. We are a government and we should be held accountable. This is one of the great accountability mechanisms of the Westminster system.

I say to those opposite: abandon this suspension motion and do your job. Ask us questions, hold us accountable. I say to the crossbench senators: you should vote against this suspension motion because you and those opposite have a duty to keep us accountable. That is what you are elected to do. That is what being on that side of the chamber means your job is. Ask us questions, hold us accountable, stop playing games and stop causing grief and uncertainty to an important sector of the Australian economy.