Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

One thing is certain: we have a constitutional crisis that is engulfing this parliament; and another thing is certain: this motion before the parliament will guarantee that this crisis will continue indefinitely. The shadow that's hanging over this parliament will continue. This motion does nothing to resolve the uncertainty, the huge lack of trust that we've seen displayed by members of this parliament and the lack of integrity—and, of course, that results in the erosion of trust from the community. This is a motion that will delay any action until the new year, and one thing's for sure: we can guarantee that we'll be talking about this issue well into next year.

It's a crisis that's been grinding on for months and months and months. People are looking at this place and they think this parliament is a joke, that it's a laughing stock and that people can't get their act together, work out whether they're eligible to be here, sort it out and move on. This proposal's not going to fix it. It won't. It can't. The Australian community are exasperated at what they're seeing unfolding in this parliament right now. What they wanted was swift and decisive action, and they're not getting it. They want MPs to put this matter behind them, to sort it out and to get on the business of governing, yet what we've got is a proposal that will continue the uncertainty and the chaos until well into next year and—who knows?—all the way up to the next election.

From the beginning of this crisis, which was precipitated with the resignation of Senator Ludlam and Senator Waters—