Cory Bernardi (SA, Australian Conservatives) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move that the consideration of this bill be not limited by time.

Leave not granted.

Pursuant to contingent notice, I move:

That so much of standing order 142 be suspended as would prevent further consideration of the Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2018 without limitation of time.

As I said in my speech in the second reading stage, this is a bill that has been hijacked to do something that it was never intended to do. It was a housekeeping bill to clean up an oversight. It has now been turned into a weapon of political destruction. The price of that political destruction is the wellbeing of men, women and children on Nauru. For all the confected outrage about how concerned these people are who want to dismantle Australia's border protection system, the fact is that they are limiting debate in this place on a matter of life and death. They've left it to the last day in the parliament to guillotine a committee stage, a Senate inquiry. They truncated debate through the second reading debate—less than an hour. It's the death knell of this parliament and they're playing with people's lives. It is an appalling indictment of the processes and the sheer bastardry that is levelled by the use of numbers.

We know that when Labor and the Greens team up the consequences for Australia's border protection are catastrophic. We know that the price of that red-green alliance is people dying at sea. We know there are 50,000 people, legacy cases, that are testament to their failures. And now we're meant to believe that, somehow, this is not worthy of debate. The Australian people know that perhaps the greatest success of this government has been the continuation of the border protection policies. It has saved hundreds—nay, thousands—of lives. There is cavalier dismissal of those deaths at sea by people like Senator Hanson-Young, who say 'accidents happen; tragedies happen', as people are drowning at sea as a consequence of the policies that they want to reopen again. This is a shameful indictment on what is to come should a Shorten-Greens government be elected in Australia.

Senator Pratt interjecting—

Even if you disagree with the policy position, the simple fact is that the sanctimonious and pious over on that side of the chamber refuse to allow debate. I note that Senator Pratt is interjecting as loudly as she possibly can, but she's had nothing to say about process. They've been hoisted on their own petard, because they've failed and mucked up the process at every single level, and now they start to complain and whinge because they're not getting what they want.

I will not have one bit of pious lecturing from those who have supported the hypocritical stance that you opposite are saving people from dying by opening Australia's borders. I'm standing up for Australia. I'm going to stand up for the people of Nauru. I'm going to stand up for the refugees—the genuine refugees—whilst you will stand up for any political act that will help entrench your power. What you're doing is diminishing the role of the Senate. You hijack an innocent bill, which was to clear up a very simple piece of administration, and you hoist your own ideological agenda on it. The price of that, that you're prepared to trade off, is the health and wellbeing of the little pawns in your political game, the people that are on Nauru as, I might add, you turn your backs on impoverished communities in this country. As you say, it's okay for the Indigenous people to live in abject poverty without appropriate medical care and without adequate schooling. You will not uphold the standards that you expect for the people on Nauru. The refugees on Nauru are in better conditions than our own populace are in some respects and still you remain silent. You think this is the most pressing issue for the people of Australia. That's how sadly out of touch you are.

It is an abuse of process that has taken place in this Senate. Not only are we not able to have a full debate and allow every senator to have their say on a very contentious and important piece of legislation or the amendments, but we're being expected to surrender the complete probity of process in the name of some fixation to score a cheap and petty political win. I will do what I can to deny you the ability to play games with people's lives on Nauru. I will not support you dismantling Australia's border protection system, because it is a great success of this government.