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

I must indicate, again, that Labor is ready to vote on the Leyonhhjelm amendment. However, the issue that I did indicate earlier was that we have heard reports about the deal on this part of the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 in relation to the ABC. I have not seen any written documentation on what the deal is. This is pretty typical of how this has been operating this week, both on the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Bill and this bill. Deals are done behind closed doors. We come to the Senate. We are not sure what the deals are. But we are asked to vote on these issues.

I think it is appropriate that Senator Di Natale has been asking questions in relation to the ABC, because we know that the position of many of the extremists in the coalition is that they would love to see the demise of the ABC. You only have to be at Senate estimates over the years, listening to some of the grumpier extremists on that side of the chamber, in there sticking it into the ABC because they dare to run programs that are progressive, that support LGBTI people and paint them in a decent light. You just have to watch what they do week in, week out. That is why I would think that some would be very concerned about the implications of this deal.

Again, I have not seen the deal—I am not sure whether it is online—because I have been in here for some time. So, Senator Xenophon, are you prepared to table now—because we will be dealing with all these issues—all the agreements that you have signed off with the government on all related matters to this bill? I think that is important, so that we know what has been done. I also think it is important that this Senate actually protects the ABC. It is as if the ABC were the dominant broadcaster around the country, when in reality there is the Murdoch press, there is the Fairfax press, there are all of those TV stations owned by multibillionaires putting out all sorts of clearly biased views on issues. Yet the ABC is the one that is accused of being too left-wing. The ABC is accused of not having enough extreme right-wing propaganda on the ABC. Well, I thought the ABC had been set up exactly to make sure that there was a balance—