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

I thank the Senate. First, Mr President, I congratulate you on your statement. I think it sets out very clearly not only the procedural issues but also the ethical issues that go to the heart of what we are dealing with here. So I indicate our support for not only the process you outlined but the principles which you asserted in that statement. In particular, that we recognise that, whilst this is a place of vigorous debate, as it should be—there are matters of contest here and matters we all care about, and we have different views—reference to race or gender has no place in that vigorous debate. I endorse your view that we are capable of debate without resorting to the sorts of labels and comments that we have witnessed and that you reference.

In terms of how we in the Labor Party have sought to approach this, our approach has been, primarily, to think about how it is that we make this chamber a better place for all women and how we make this a better place for diversity. That is why I take the view that the President's statements contribute to that end. We certainly don't want to get into individual and partisan politics when dealing with these matters. I'm sure all of us, at times, can behave better, but our focus will always be on how we make this a better place for women to be involved in and for people from diverse backgrounds to be involved in. That is how we will continue to approach this matter.

I note that Senator Di Natale has flagged a range of processes. We'll consider them. I do indicate, given the tone of the way in which the President has dealt with this, it would have been a sensible thing to give people notice of that before indicating it.