Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too want to echo the sentiments of other senators in thanking the staff. As a new senator, I have found them particularly helpful, so it has been a really welcoming start. One of the things I am really disappointed with in starting in the Senate is that I thought I would be looking forward to hearing from one of Queensland's finest legal minds, but after five months I can report that I am bitterly disappointed in what I have seen from Senator Brandis. The performance of the senator has indeed been very mediocre—not only today in answering the questions that were put to him in question time but since the election and throughout his political career.

Senator Watt attempted to go through a litany of the senator's errors. He did a pretty good job, but I think there were some that he missed. I am going to mention some of them. Senator Watt mentioned the $15,000 bookshelf to show how learned the senator was. I do not think he got to the disgraceful episode of the senator's reading poetry during an estimates session. Senator Watt mentioned the 18C changes and the senator's statement about the right to be a bigot, which has set off a very unsavoury debate in this country. He mentioned the poorly treated President of the Human Rights Commission, Professor Gillian Triggs. He also mentioned the senator's claim that he had consulted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Mick Gooda, before establishing the Don Dale royal commission, when no such consultation occurred. Then there were the false claims to have consulted with the Solicitor-General; that relationship was so strained that the Solicitor-General was forced to resign. This week we saw him throw Joe Hockey under the bus over the Bell litigation and the dodgy deal with the Western Australian government. This has all been very mediocre from the Leader of the Government in the Senate, who has been a ball and chain around the Prime Minister's leg for so long now. Surely that chain is going to be cut over the Christmas break.

The question that people are asking is: where will Senator Brandis end up? Let's go through some of the options. He could go to the Netherlands for a well-earned break and maybe catch up with his good buddy former senator Brett Mason! I do not think that is likely, given that he rolled him out of the Senate only a couple of years ago. He could go to Washington and catch up with his former mate Joe Hockey, but after his performance this week—where he threw Ambassador Hockey under the bus—I think that is unlikely. The other problem with the US is that, as Senator Roberts knows, they are very much cracking down on elites, so Senator Brandis would not be welcome in America at the moment. It looks like London is the destination, and it looks like Alexander Downer will be the victim of Senator Brandis being dumped from the Senate! I am sure he will be able to keep himself busy with the bookshelves, the plays in the West End et cetera.

Let's look at his legacy. This is something that is really important. At a time when politicians are treated with great cynicism, what we have seen from Senator Brandis and his performance since I have been in this place—both in this chamber and also in Senate committees—has only added to that cynicism. Senator Brandis has had very serious questions to answer, but we get obfuscation and failure to answer adequately. I am sure he goes back to his office, high-fives his staff and says: 'We nailed it today. We got through another question time.' But the damage to his career, the damage to this government and the increase in public cynicism are things that we all have to deal with. When looking at his legacy, it is really important to see the whole picture. The performances that we have seen here and during questioning in the Senate committee process leave a lot to be desired. As a result, all politicians feel the increase in public cynicism that is caused from performances such as that we have seen from Senator Brandis.

Once again, I want to thank all staff in this chamber and in the parliament for being so welcoming of a new senator. I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Senator Brandis, I hope you enjoy a white Christmas!

Question agreed to.