Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition will not be supporting this motion. The Senate dealt with, and negated, a very similar motion to this last week. I remind the Senate that when a similar proposal was considered in 1999, Senator Bob Brown, on behalf of the Australian Greens, said:

One of the problems is the reversal of the onus of proof. … I am concerned that it could be followed up by a wide variety of motions which require members of parliament to attest to their propriety without there having been any evidence that they had acted with impropriety.

Labor has taken a consistent approach on similar matters for several years. It reflects the past position of those opposite and the Australian Greens. Labor does not support reversing the onus of proof and requiring all senators to prove their eligibility where no question has arisen. However, where the public record reveals serious credible doubts, the only appropriate resolution is through a referral to the one body that can make an authoritative determination—that is, the High Court of Australia.