Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move a motion to vary the order of the Senate of 20 June 2018 relating to consideration of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Personal Income Tax Plan) Bill 2018.

Leave not granted.

Pursuant to contingent notice, I move:

That so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent me from moving a motion to provide for the consideration of a matter; namely, a motion to vary the order of the Senate of 20 June 18 relating to consideration of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Personal Income Tax Plan) Bill 2018.

I am moving this motion in order to give senators the opportunity to suspend standing orders to debate a motion to, frankly, remedy what was passed yesterday in this chamber.

Senator Ian Macdonald interjecting—

Yes, we will. I'll take the interjection from Senator Macdonald. We will keep trying it again, because we actually believe that the Senate should do its job. The Senate should do its job, mate, which is actually to seek to amend legislation and debate it, not to act like an arm of the executive. We were sent here to legislate, and yesterday the government, along with their mates Senator Rex Patrick and Centre Alliance, who appear to roll over—every time Senator Cormann asks Senator Patrick to jump, he just says, 'How high?' He's a Lib. He is nothing but a Lib. Senator Rex Patrick is nothing but a Lib who is happy to walk in here and do what Senator Nick Xenophon would never have done. Senator Storer put a statement out yesterday, and it was very measured, I would have to say, but it was also a statement which told the truth, which is that Senator Nick Xenophon would never have done what Senator Patrick agreed with Senator Cormann to do, and that is to do over the Senate. This is $144 billion worth of tax cuts that they don't want to debate. This is supposed to be one of the centrepieces of your economic plan, and you don't even have the spine to debate it properly. You come in here and you try an ambush in order to make sure the Senate can't debate amendments. What an extraordinary proposition—that we are sent here in this place, but we want 30 minutes debate on $144 billion worth of tax cuts! What I find extraordinary—