Scott Ryan (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Wong, I am going to the point that you raised in your address only a few minutes ago—that the parliament was prorogued and summoned to deal with pieces of legislation the government said were a priority. After years of refusing to allow the parliament to consider the legislation, earlier this year you sent it off to a committee with the specific intention of preventing it being dealt with before the budget—and then you cry wolf because you do not like the process the Constitution allows to summon the parliament. And then you admitted in your speech earlier that that was all a delay—because you rolled over and had a vote on it last night. We then dealt with the second piece of legislation, the bill to abolish the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, because we had hundreds of truckies and their families driving to this building and saying that this legislation, put in place by Labor and the Greens for their TWU mates—your funders, the people who write you cheques—would cost them their jobs.

Opposition senators interjecting—

At least the Labor Party is being honest now—it actually wants to shut down small business. The confected outrage of Senator Wong and the Labor Party has no place in this chamber, and the Australian public do not take it seriously. I just wish I could act half as well!