Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy President. I do believe that Senator Ciccone would make a good cop, but I think, through you, Mr Acting Deputy President, that he could turn and become a bad cop, and maybe you'll need to use negotiating tactics like this, in terms of your power-sharing arrangement with the Greens.

But we heard it again this afternoon. We heard it again today from Senator Cox, with her housing policy straight out of the 1940s. Did rent control work in Great Britain? No. Did they abolish it because it didn't work? Yes. Does rent control work in the state of New York? No. Did rent control work in the state of Victoria in the 1940s, during the Second World War and in its aftermath? No. What did rent control lead to? It led to a lack of private dwellings available for rent, because landlords wouldn't invest in them. And they didn't invest in any maintenance of the buildings that they built, because there was rent control. Then, people who had excess capacity, in terms of accommodation, didn't rent it out because they wouldn't have gotten sufficient rent. It was an absolutely disastrous policy.

But I can see Senator Watt and Senator Ciccone spending time, in terms of sharing the power with the Greens, having these debates. I've got some literature upstairs. I've got a book called Basic Economics, which I'll lend you. It has a whole chapter on rent control. It's an introductory text for economics 101, so I'll lend that to you, Senator Ciccone. Through you, Mr Acting Deputy President, I will lend it to my good friends opposite for when they're engaged in their power-sharing arrangements with the Australian Greens. It's going to be delightful.

I must say that Senator Watt is a person of great humour. From time to time I chuckle at his contributions. Sometimes I can't be too open about it, but I do chuckle from time to time. Through you, Mr Acting Deputy President, I just wonder how long Senator Watt's good humour is going to last. But, through you Mr Acting Deputy President, whatever happens, my door is always open to Senator Watt and to my good friend Senator Ciccone, if they need some counselling. I've been through difficult negotiations during my corporate career, and if they need some counselling at any time in relation to the negotiation, I've got a book in my library called How to deal with Difficult People. I'm prepared to lend you that book—through you, Mr Acting Deputy President.