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

On that basis, pursuant to contingent notice of motion, I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent me moving a motion to provide for the consideration of a matter, namely a motion to give precedence to a motion for the adjournment of the Senate.

Speaking to the suspension of standing orders motion, and to enable a discussion with the crossbench—I know that Centre Alliance, for possibly quite principled reasons, always say that the government ought to be able to run their own legislative agenda. I just say this: the government doesn't have a legislative agenda in the Senate. It's the Monday of this sitting week, and we have the government saying, 'Guess what? We have run out of legislation in the Senate. We want to go to the address-in-reply.' It's the same old tried and true delaying tactic that governments use when they have to fill Senate chamber time. They've already gone to that at 8.25 pm on the Monday night of the sitting week. What is the government's agenda? Where is the government's agenda? The government doesn't have an agenda for the Senate. Do you know why? Because you've just spent the day in the House of Representatives trying to gain a wedge on the Labor Party to abolish the Building Australia Fund, because you want to talk about drought. You've had a situation where the Prime Minister is so focused on playing politics that he hasn't even wanted to allow the shadow cabinet to meet to determine a position. He hasn't wanted to allow the caucus to meet to determine a position. He's so desperate to make sure he gets a political wedge up, and you come in here and, so embarrassingly, don't have any legislation for the Senate that you have to go to the address-in-reply at 8.25 pm on the Monday night of a sitting week. What are we all doing? We're all sitting here waiting for Mr Morrison to get the votes through the House of Representatives, which he hasn't got as yet, on legislation to abolish the Building Australia Fund because he wants to try and wedge the Labor Party on drought.

If you ever wanted an example of a government that doesn't have an agenda, you have it now. You have it with Senator Ruston sitting here saying: 'You do what you want, Senator Wong, because we don't have any legislation. I've got an address-in-reply I want to get in. That's what I want to do because I want delay tactics, as the government manager, as long as possible.' Here is Senator Cormann. He's coming in to make up an agenda. You're on to the address-in-reply at 8.25 on a Monday night because you haven't got any legislation. I say the Senate should adjourn until you've got an agenda to debate. The reason you haven't got an agenda today is because you've been so focused on playing politics in the lower house and you haven't got any legislation through. You could have put legislation through the lower house today. But you haven't. Instead you've chosen to delay because you want a political debate on the Building Australia Fund abolition. That is entirely what is occurring.

So I say to the crossbench—I don't know where Senator Patrick is; hopefully, he is somewhere in this building. Senator Griff is here. Senator Griff, I shouldn't address you in a partisan way, but I would ask that the Centre Alliance party consider this. You have, on a principled basis, asserted that the government has the right to its legislative agenda. I understand that. At times I haven't agreed with it, but as a principle I recognise it, and we have generally recognised a similar convention, frankly. They haven't got one. They want to go to the address-in-reply because they don't have any more legislation for this chamber.

It's another example of the fact that this government has nothing positive to say. All they are interested in is trying to wedge the Australian Labor Party. Well, they won the election and the time for simply engaging in partisan politics, I would have thought, is over. The time for governing is here. That's not governing. It's Monday night and they want us all to sit around debating the address-in-reply because they don't have any legislation. Well, I say that the Senate should be provided with legislation. I say that if they can't give us legislation to debate on the Monday night—it's not like it's Wednesday or Thursday; if you can't give us legislation to debate on a Wednesday or Thursday night then let's adjourn the Senate. Everybody knows that moving to the address-in-reply is simply a concession that you have nothing to say.

Senator Cormann interjecting—

It's simply a concession that you have nothing to say! The fact is that the government is saying this on a Monday night, and if anybody wanted an example of the Morrison government not having a political agenda then, ladies and gentlemen, you have it here in the Australian Senate tonight! Monday night, 8:25 pm, and they're are already onto the address-in-reply. They've got no legislation—(Time expired)