Alex Gallacher (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy President. And I do withdraw any imputation on any nationality. It was a slip so to speak. We do know that there has been capital flowing in and out of Australia for the whole 200 years of its history. It is necessary. It is always finds its place. It is not always successful; that is the point I was trying to make. I think it is really interesting that the Greens political party, who have now become addicted to this allure of making deals with the government, is dabbling in that area as well. The Foreign Investment Review Board screening thresholds for investments in agriculture and agribusiness were done in their interests for purely electoral purposes; they were not done in the best interests of Australia

Anyway, back to the matter at hand: the simple facts are that Senator Simms will be arguing for these reforms as a good member of his party—ably led by Senator Di Natale—and I do not think he has actually ever received a vote. Senator Hanson-Young and Senator Simms, if there is a double dissolution, will probably be fighting it out for a spot. We go down through the history of these sorts of arrangements, and I think '83 and '87 were the last two double dissolutions, so we do not have a lot of real groundwork to go on. We do not really know what is going to happen in South Australia, but there could be well be a situation where this will not actually play out for the Greens political party, and it may be that some of the new-found pragmatism and deal making in the Greens political party will actually impact on their membership in this chamber, and that may be an unintended consequence of the arrangements they are making.

It is fair to say that this arrangement has been debated for a couple of sessions now and with a few more to go. I actually think that the voters of Australia can be trusted to get matters correct. I do not subscribe to the view that this needs dramatic overhaul. I think we can trust the electors of Australia to pick up a House of Reps ballot paper and fill it out and pick up a Senate ballot paper and fill it out. The situation that has prevailed since '83, I think, should continue and I think it is disingenuous of the Greens to take an opportunity which they believe may favour them, as the party who may hold the most crossbench seats, so to speak, in this place outside the Nats—do not forget that the Nats will have a few. Sorry, Senator Simms: that is the Nationals, in case you want to take exception to that, but we have always used some abbreviations here. I simply think that the arrangements in place at the moment have suited Australia since '83. They should continue. I do not think that the deal that has been done with the government and the Greens will advance either party, but if it does advance a party it is more likely to be the conservative side of politics than the Greens.

(Quorum formed)