Ricky Muir (Victoria, Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That:

So much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent me moving a motion to provide for the consideration of a matter—namely, a motion to give precedence to a motion relating to the hours of meeting and routine of business today.

The government has been very vocal about not being able to pass the ABCC legislation through the Senate, yet, when given an opportunity on a silver platter, they reject it. There is an opportunity now to debate this legislation, putting it in front of all other government business, but, together with a deal you made with the Greens, you are ignoring something that you claim to be some of the most important legislation you need to put to the Senate. To quote the Prime Minister, 'We would not be having this debate had the Senate actually voted for these amendments.' We are now standing with the opportunity to have this debate, and the government is rejecting it and the Greens are allowing it to happen to put self-interest ahead of the people of Australia. It is an absolute disgrace.

The amendments you have rushed through the parliament for a bill we are all going to discuss very soon and which had a very poor committee stage, are not what you or the government claim it to be. The bill has only recently come out of the committee stage. I even supported the government in an attempt to avoid the bill being referred to the committee in the first place when it had the reporting date of 15 March, which was pulled back to the end of last week so it could be debated in the committee of the whole, so the government cannot claim that the crossbench was not being proactive in trying to assist them in at least debating this in the Senate. There were amendments which were worthwhile to discuss and which should be put ahead of electoral reform which you are putting forward in your own interest. There is no secret that I was trying to work with the government. I even went and visited the Minister for Employment in her office in Perth. I was more than happy at least to sit down, have this conversation and be proactive.

The government is claiming that electoral reform needs to come through to rid it of the crossbenchers in the Senate to stop an unorderly Senate. Only a handful of bills have actually been knocked back. There has been some terrible policy. The Greens have agreed to that, yet they are trying to give you the majority in the Senate for the future to come. It is an absolute disgrace. The problem is not the crossbench. We are here trying to work with you, all having a diverse amount of views, something the Greens should be sticking up for. But we are not discussing innovation, progress or tax; we are discussing self-interest ahead of what the government claims to be their most important legislation.

Only a handful of bills have been rejected. The government is blaming the crossbench rather than looking in their own backyard to see that the ministerial changes all the time are part of their problem. By getting rid of the diverse Senate and wedging the Greens into a position of power—have fun. Oh my god, you're going to have some fun! But the people of Australia are going to see through this.

I look forward to more debate in relation to electoral reform, but the ABCC, going off your own rhetoric, should be coming first.