Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

Where is the condemnation from Mr Dutton of reports of senior members of Mr Dutton's front bench undermining the Victorian opposition leader's attempts to stand up to right-wing extremism in his party? Where is the condemnation of that? They are questions that only the Liberal Party can answer, I'm afraid. But there are senators in this place that are supporting what we saw, through the way they engage with the Victorian Liberal Party on what we saw on the weekend.

I think we deserve better. I think the Australian people deserve better. The Senate should stand united. We should stand together. We should send a strong voice about the events that we saw in Victoria and what have led, I think, to this bill being drafted this week. We definitely should do that, but that's not what's happening. Let's use the Practice custom of this place, which is to put bills into the chamber, have them go through a process, have them referred to committees if necessary and then have them brought back for debate during the time that's allocated in this chamber, not try and move a stunt when there are other things that should be happening, standing united on a whole range of fronts. This bill that the leader seeks to move today needs serious consideration, not a stunt. (Time expired)