Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

My apologies, Mr Acting Deputy President. The Greens teamed up with the Liberal and National parties and did a filthy deal. As part of that filthy deal on Senate voting reform, the Greens voted against their own platform to defeat a Labor amendment that would have comprehensively reformed political donations in this country. So the Greens had the chance, they had the leverage and they had the bargaining power, and they rolled over for their own selfish political interests. The self-proclaimed shining lights of progressive politics got down in the mud and did a dirty deal to try to put more Green bums on red seats.

They failed in that too, because there is one less of them today than when they did that deal. They sacrificed all of their principles and managed to throw former Senator Simms under the bus in the process.

Senator Rhiannon interjecting—

Now, I know that was not actually the plan; it was Senator Hanson-Young who was to go under the bus. But I appreciate those South Australian Democrats members threw a bit of a spanner in the works of Senator Di Natale and friends. I am not actually holding you responsible for this one, Senator Rhiannon, and I know where you stand on those issues.

What leadership old fancypants himself has shown! What leadership has Senator Di Natale shown here! Time and time again the Greens have been happy to make all of the noises, make all of the accusations and throw all of the muck, but when a chance came to do the right thing—to not even do the right thing; how about voting for your own party platform just this once—what happened? The Greens threw away the opportunity, rolled over and then wanted to come in and, as usual, lecture the Labor Party.

So, just in the last week, we have seen Senator Di Natale imploring Australia to:

… move away from a system of huge corporate and foreign donations influencing the decisions that are made in Canberra.

What a fine sentiment! Yet, when Senator Di Natale says this, he fails to mention that it was the Greens that happily received almost $27,000 in gifts, in kind, from a New Zealand company ahead of the 2010 election. I know we have the closer economic relationship and I know we consider ourselves very close to New Zealand, but my check of geography is: they are not part of the Commonwealth; they actually decided not to join the Commonwealth. And that makes it a foreign corporation. Happy to take the dough back then!

When Senator Di Natale gives these lectures, he fails to mention that in 2010 the Greens received what was—and will continue to be until, I suspect, the next exposures next February—the largest single political donation in Australian history: more than $1.6 million from Graeme Wood, the founder of Wotif.com. One point six million dollars in one hit. Wow! Well, we know who owns you. One point six million dollars!

Senator Di Natale, again, when he lectures everybody else, fails to mention that that same Mr Wood donated a further $630,000 to the Greens in the lead-up to the 2016 federal election. As Senator Macdonald said earlier, Mr Wood felt that that $1.6 million was the best investment he ever made—enough to donate another $630,000. I do not know anybody who has ever donated $630,000 dollars to me or the Labor Party, but that comes to nearly $2 million, across a couple of elections, from one person.

But not one to let the facts get in the way, Senator Di Natale has ploughed on, claiming that the Greens 'don't accept donations from developers'. He claimed: 'We don't accept donations from the alcohol industry, from the gambling industry and so on.' Once again, he failed to mention that the Greens have received donations of more than $585,000 from Duncan Turpie—a mathematician and a known high-end gambler. A high-end gambler gave you $585,000 for this election. It must be wonderful having these sugar daddies, Senator Lambie; it really must!