Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Well, the truth hurts, doesn't it? There is an opportunity now to move forward from this moment, to refer this bill to a committee and do our job, to ensure that the legislation before us does what we expect it to do, to perform the very basic nature of our duties. I have expressed—and it will probably seem to be an understatement to some listening tonight—a great deal of anger on behalf of those who work in this sector. I do so because, through ignorance, you have put at risk billions of dollars of industry and threatened the right to privacy of all Australians. Through that process, though you were comprehensively told over the Christmas break that you were wrong, that you didn't know what you were doing and that you had passed bad legislation, you have come before this chamber today with the same mindset. That is ultimately the inexcusable aspect of today's spectacle. You mucked up, you didn't read it carefully, and now you continue to make your mistake worse. That is the unforgivable part that the opposition is playing in this process.

We will be moving amendments during this debate which seek to get good outcomes to repair some of the damage, to do right by the citizenry and the industry. I urge the crossbench and the opposition to support those amendments, to support referral and to finally get on and do your damn job. I thank the chamber and I move:

At the end of the motion, add:

", and the bill be referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 2 April 2019."