Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to advise the chamber that we will be supporting this motion, but I want to make the point that this legislation has been known to the government since the UK introduced their scheme in 2015. The government waited four years to bring this scheme in. They announced it in November, they put it forward in February, they sent it off to the committee, the committee reported back in April and here we are in July, finally debating this legislation after four years.

This week the government prioritised a drought fund bill ahead of this legislation. They pushed that through the House ahead of this legislation. This legislation could have been in the Senate much earlier this week. This legislation that they say is an imperative—that it is a policy imperative and an operational imperative that we have this legislation passed—could have been done earlier this week. But they put forward a drought fund bill. I'm not saying drought and helping our farmers aren't important, but that drought fund doesn't start for two years. This, they say, is important. The drought fund doesn't start for two years, but that was their priority. The opposition will be supporting this hours motion, because we don't want to leave here this week without this legislation passing the parliament. That's why we're supporting this motion. But I want it on the record that the government has had four years and had plenty of time this week, and it didn't get it done. We want to make sure it gets done before we leave Canberra this week. That's why we're supporting this motion.

Question agreed to.