Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I think that Senator Cash would have been chair of a references committee too, Senator Stoker, and that she would have done a great job at that time. They are valuable opportunities for a constructive approach to be taken at times. However, there has been a bit of a trend over the years as well where references committees are sometimes abused. Because they have that non-government majority that they are constituted with, those references committees then operate in a way where they are used not so much for the legitimate analysis of the issues that are proposed, not so much for the pursuit of information and knowledge around those issues but instead for political purposes where a non-government controlled committee is able to pursue political attacks on the government rather than the purpose, original function and intent for which that references committee was established. I've noted that over the years there have sometimes even been attempts to have legislation referred to a references committee, if opposition parties of the day think they can get the numbers in that regard.

Those approaches, when they are used in ways that undermine the intent of those references committees, can indeed be, I think, undermining of the overall benefits we have from the very powerful and important committee system in the Australian Senate. Now, there has been a little bit happening, as there usually is in sitting weeks and in the finance minister's life. I haven't had a chance to go and have a look over each of the 18 committee reports from the Environment and Communications References Committee myself.

I have no doubt, Senator Whish-Wilson, that others, particularly in the relevant portfolio offices, would have read the valuable work of those committees. I just, in the last day or two, haven't had the chance to go and read the reports myself. I'm sure that in some parts they are valuable additions to public policy and debate. But I equally suspect that in other parts, especially given this references committee has for a period of time had a chair from the Greens—and I note Senator Hanson-Young's enthusiasm on this topic—it is probably the case that this committee's reports are somewhat laden with the Greens' view of the world, perhaps with the support of the Labor Party—a reminder of the type of Labor-Greens alliance that we could see after the next election, where their pursuit—