Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

What I want to be very clear about is this. We do, in this place, have a principle, where absent urgent circumstances, absent a compelling argument as to urgency, the general proposition that senators across the political divide, including—

Senator O'Sullivan interjecting—

Senator O'Sullivan, you may well avail yourself of this at times—senators have agreed that legislation gets referred to committees for consideration. That is the general proposition. There are circumstances where we have urgent bills where it is agreed that that principle is departed from but that is the general principle in this place. Even with the counter-terrorism legislation there was agreement with Senator Brandis that there be an inquiry through the PJCIS. It is true that senators also will agree, if something is not controversial or urgent, that we will have a limited inquiry. I am very clear that there is no need for a lengthy inquiry on this legislation but we think it is appropriate to refer it to the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee. The manager made some suggestion that this was a new proposition, that this was something they were not aware of. I want to make very very clear, crystal clear, that I was clear on Monday of this week at a meeting of leaders and whips, to the Leader of the Government in the Senate, to the whip and to the manager, if he was in the meeting— I cannot recall; he was in and out of the meeting—that we were intending to ask that this be referred to Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee. So the suggestion the manager has put on the record, to which I feel the need to respond—Senator O'Sullivan, you will understand that—that this is somehow a stunt or a new thing is wrong. I told the Leader of the Government in the Senate on Monday that we would want this referred to the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee. I also advised the President that that was the opposition's position.

The Labor Party has facilitated speedy passage of this legislation through the House. At no point in this debate, at no point in the conversations which have been had has a single government senator or minister explained to this chamber why it is so urgent that this bill be passed to day. Not a single government senator has made that argument. Why is this occurring?

The information I was given—I do not want to divulge by whom—in some private conversations would suggest that there is some push from the Prime Minister's office to get this legislation through. If that is the case, tell us what the urgency is. All are silent over there. This is so urgent, we cannot actually send this bill to the Finance and Public Administration—