Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Chair, and thank you for that help and direction. I would argue that what I am talking about here is a principle that Senator Macdonald has applied to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee report. I am entitled, I think, to point out that I support Senator Macdonald on that principle. I wholly support Senator Macdonald on that principle. I am simply saying that Senator Macdonald has not applied that principle to other areas where public servants and independent organisations under government auspices have not followed that principle. I think I am entirely on point. I accept the position that you have adopted in relation to the report, I must say, apart from the nitpicking approach. I agree, even though it is nitpicking, that the commission should ensure that it complies with its obligations.

All I am saying is that the next time we get an Ombudsman's report into the Fair Work building commission on its lack of adherence to the rules and regulations that apply to the Fair Work building commission, maybe, just maybe, Senator Macdonald will be on his feet about the Fair Work building commission and Mr Nigel Hadgkiss—probably the most incompetent public servant I have come across in my experience in almost a decade in this place—and point out how incompetent that commissioner is in relation to his adherence to the principles that Senator Macdonald is espousing should apply to the commissioner of the Human Rights Commission.

I must say that I would probably have differences with Commissioner Triggs from time to time on some of the issues, but I think generally she is seen to be an extremely competent, an extremely diligent and an extremely effective commissioner for the Human Rights Commission. There are those from the extreme Right in the Liberal-National party who, every time they see the commissioner, see that their weird and misconstrued views about how the commission should work are epitomised in the commissioner, so they take every chance to have a go at her. It was clear that Senator Macdonald's publicly displayed behaviour—on the record—in relation to Commissioner Triggs did no service to the committee process in this parliament, did no service to the Senate and did no service to Senator Macdonald himself. It was full of bullying. It was full of standover tactics. It was an absolute disgrace.

Senator Macdonald continues to look for every opportunity to have a go at the Human Rights Commission and Commissioner Triggs, and this is just one of them. It shows how petty Senator Macdonald is getting. The longer Senator Macdonald is here the more petty he becomes, the more narrow he is in his views and the more reviled he is by even his own side on some of the issues that he raises. But that is Senator Macdonald. I have absolutely no argument about Senator Macdonald's work ethic, no argument about that at all. I just wish his work ethic was used for the good of the parliament and the good of the community, and that he stopped the nitpicking and he stopped the bullying. That would be good for the Senate.