Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC) Share this | Hansard source

It may have been British at the time, but—we won't go into that. But, look, I think there is concern in the community about what's happened in the Senate and, the earlier and the quicker we can resolve these issues, I think, will restore the confidence of the community in the processes that operate in the Senate.

There has been some criticism in the media about Section 44, and I guess some in the media describe it perhaps as an antiquated provision. We do not believe that it is an antiquated provision. It has an important role in the operation of the democracy in our country, and we believe that it's a good provision that needs to be supported. If people get elected to this place but have not satisfied the conditions associated with Section 44, then that's carelessness and neglect on their part.

This reference, I think, will start the process of rebuilding what I think is fragility in the trust of democracy in this country at the moment—and perhaps in other parts of the world—about the way it is working. So, we support Section 44. We congratulate Senator Hanson on this referral. The issue does need to be resolved. It needs to be resolved in Senator Roberts' interests, One Nation's interests but, more importantly, the Senate, and we need an authoritative and conclusive resolution to this issue. We support the reference.