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

Fortunately, Professor Triggs had the courage and integrity to stand her ground in the face of this extraordinary conduct by the Attorney-General. She told Senate estimates last week:

I rejected it out of hand. I thought it was a disgraceful proposal.

Mr President, fellow senators, it was a disgraceful proposal—a disgraceful, deceitful proposal from a disgraced and discredited Attorney-General. I would like to read—I probably do not have time to read it—a letter that I received from a resident of Wollstonecraft, who wrote:

The Coalition's aggressive and misogynist, unnecessary and malicious attacks need to be curtailed.

The resident wrote:

I want a leader of Australia who is respectful to others, no matter if they disagree with them.

And:

I urge you to ask Parliament to provide a leader for all Australians and not a leader who belittles, ridicules and repudiates others.

This is the view from mainstream Australia. But I would say—and I address my remarks to this chamber and particularly the crossbench—there is a lot of partisan debate in this chamber. There is a lot of rancour at times, a lot of hard debate and a lot of toing and froing. But we have an important job to do today and the—