Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Greens, and the crossbench, are a very important part of this parliament. We are a very important part of this chamber, the Senate, and we have been voted into this place by millions of voters across this country. There are no rules and regulations that say the government of the day has to have the President's position in this chamber. It has only been the convention between the old parties, Labor and Liberal, that the President should be with the government of the day. Today, the Greens want to challenge this convention and send a message that we and the crossbench, every single one of them, play a critical role in this democracy, in this government, in this parliament.

I'd also like to say—and I've said this publicly already—that Senator Parry was an excellent President of the Senate. Let me be the first one to say that in this chamber this morning, following recent weeks where we haven't been here. There are still questions to be answered around Senator Parry's departure. This government, and the way it's handled this citizenship crisis, is a disgrace. You have brought disrespect onto the position of the President of the Senate by how you have handled this constitutional crisis.