Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Conroy comes in many forms. There is the tough man, there is the reasonable man and there are many things in between. Today we have seen an extraordinary Senator Conroy putting himself out there as a defender of democracy who is concerned for the small parties. Firstly, let us get on the record what happened at JSCEM last week. Senator Conroy and all the other senators were invited to be participating members. They can come along and make suggestions. That was done. The committee is working in a very respectful way.

To say that he was told—

Senator Conroy interjecting—

I know I should ignore the interjections. What they are essentially doing is wanting to defend the status quo when it comes to the current system of backroom deals. Remember this about Senator Conroy. Yes, he is a senator, but where has he come from? He has come from being one of the experts in backroom deals, and that is what he wants to defend. That is the essence of all the tactics that played out last week and that are playing out today and that they are cooking up now.

Let's go back to the JSCEM hearing last week. Apparently, he was not told who the witnesses were. He emphasised when he just spoke that he was not told about the time, the witnesses, when they would come and how long the inquiry would go for. It was like any other inquiry that we go to where the secretariat puts in a great deal of work and comes forward with proposals. He could have made suggestions. All Senator Conroy did was throw a few bombs, complain bitterly and then storm out, banging the door. That is how helpful he was.