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

I understand Senator Back's shock and horror.

Senator Back interjecting—

I would not go that far, Senator Back. This is a rort. This is a fix. This is a political process being established by a government that was unhappy with the crossbench. The fact that the Greens political party has gone along with it, frankly, I think is disappointing. I think there is a desperate attempt by the Greens party to drag themselves to the right. I think they are giving up left-wing values, I think they are giving up left-wing principles and I think they are abandoning the left of politics. People can do what they want to do. Let us not kid ourselves. I speak from experience here. You have to draw the line somewhere. This is coming from a bloke who did a re-enactment of a mobile phone on the ABC. When I say, 'Are you crazy for doing a GQ fashion shoot, dressed up as the cat burglar and pretend you support progressive values and politics?' Then you know you have gone too far.

When you talk about left-wing values and principles and the working poor and you dress in the type of clothing to sell that clothing—$5½ thousand worth of clothes and a fashion shoot—to show off, to look good, to try and be impressive, to dress up like the cat burglar of Australian politics, when you are prepared to do that, when that is the path that you want to go down, there is a word for that; it is 'ego'. And when you are prepared to sell out progressive values, to sell out progressive senators and to sell what is a Senate that has stood up for some of the poorest, low-paid, hardest-working Australians simply to be able to fit in and get that tick on the back, get that acceptance by that group of fashion connoisseurs then you are not a party of principle and you are not a party of values. What you are is a sell-out, and that is what they have become. This whole process has been about selling out on values and principles and it is about trying to get a short-term political outcome and retrofitting an entire electoral model around it.

I want a diverse Senate. I believe in a diverse Senate. I believe in a different set of views. I think this Senate has been strengthened by the fact that there are so many different senators with incredibly different views, different backgrounds, different political perspectives and different political philosophies working together and looking at legislation. I think the fact that this Senate has genuine conservatives in it like Senator Day or genuine libertarians or socially conservative yet economic liberal people such as Senator Madigan is a better place as a result. What I worry in fear is that, in the search of short-term fix, the government is behaving in a way for its own political self-interests. I am not surprised by that to be honest. I would have expected them to do so. I am surprised that the Greens—

Senator Whish-Wilson interjecting—