Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

This inquiry was another attempt by the Labor Party and the Greens to blame the coalition government for a situation which evolved during the time of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government—in fact, during the second Rudd government. This was a references committee set up inappropriately. It was about the fourth committee that the Greens and the Labor Party had set up. It achieved absolutely nothing, except to show that Mr Kevin Rudd, as the Labor Prime Minister, set up this regional processing centre without proper thought in a matter of weeks before the election to try to overcome a political problem he had with the unregulated entry of illegal arrivals into our country. Mr Rudd had eventually worked out that Mr Howard was correct and that the proper process was to set up these regional detention centres. Mr Rudd did that but, unlike Mr Howard, he did it within a matter of days and without proper consideration. Of course, those opposite were part of that government. If anyone had given it any thought and if they were seriously looking at the issue, they would have said to Mr Rudd at that time, 'You can't set this up in a matter of minutes because it will end in tears.' And in tears it did end.

My colleague Senator Reynolds assiduously tried to participate in this, as did I. I was asked to participate in this. But with this committee—as with a similar committee—the times for hearings seemed to be set up when they knew coalition people could not be there. I suspect that it was not often that the two coalition members we able to be there. There were only two coalition members on this committee. Notwithstanding that the coalition has the majority of senators in this chamber, the coalition was only given two out of six or seven positions on this committee. That is the way the Labor Party and the Greens attempt to run these dodgy committees—hoping to get a result that attacks the coalition government for something the Rudd government did with the support of the Greens political party.

Senator Reynolds, in senators' statements just yesterday, actually gave a very detailed response to the matters that Senator Gallacher has just, again, raised. Senator Gallacher, in previous contributions—six times, I am told—has tried to defend this committee and has personally attacked Senator Reynolds. Senator Reynolds has responded, and if anyone is interested in this debate I would urge them to look at Senator Reynolds's statement in senators' statements yesterday, or the day before, to see the real truth of the matter.

As I said, this is the third or fourth or fifth inquiry that the Greens initiated—and the Labor Party goes along with them—trying to—