Sam Dastyari (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have fundamental issues with the legislation as it has been proposed. My issues with it stem from the fact that, frankly, from what I can see, what we have here is an electoral gerrymander masquerading as transparency and reform. It is a predetermined outcome with a model built and retrofitted to achieve that. Let's be clear: the coalition and the Greens got into bed together and asked, 'How do we wipe out the minor parties?' Then they built a model to achieve that. Then they created a set of arguments to justify that. If this was real, serious reform, if this was actually about what it purports to be about, we would not be having a one-week inquiry to look at the biggest changes in Senate voting structures since 1984. These would be the biggest changes in 31 years.

I believe the Senate is a better place because of its diversity of views. I believe the Senate is a better place because there are so many different views being expressed here. A lot of them are views that I do not agree with. Someone like Senate Day and I have little to nothing in common when it comes to policy positions, but the fact that there is someone advocating positions that are different to my own I do not think weakens this institution. I believe it strengthens it.

Fundamentally when you have this type of system, these kinds of changes mean—and let's not pussyfoot around this; let's be honest about what this is going to result in—there will be only three parties in this chamber and perhaps occasionally a Senator Xenophon. This is the behaviour of a bunch of schoolyard bullies getting to turn around and say what kids do and do not get to participate and who does and does not get to play.

The hypocrisy of this coming from the Greens party is that it is a party that grew from being a very, very small minor party with a very, very small vote that over a period of time used this system to build its support. To turn around and try to shut the trapdoor behind them is, I think, deplorable. I think it is disgusting. I think it is a terrible development. If the Greens political party decides that it is going to spend the rest of its time being the lap-dog of the coalition parties that is a matter for it—

Senator McKim interjecting—

Senator Waters interjecting—

Senator Rhiannon interjecting—

No, on all the big legislation I have been involved with in the past year all I have seen, time after time, is this new coalition between the Greens, the Libs and the National Party. That is a matter for other political parties—

Senator McKim interjecting—

Senator Waters interjecting—

Senator Rhiannon interjecting—