Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I appreciate the acknowledgement from the minister that there's a lot more in general that we need to cover with regard to this, despite having moved into the government amendments. It is in relation to those amendments that came to the table not that long ago and that we are still working our way through. Yes, there's been a lot of public commentary. There were a couple of second reading speeches given last night that gave voice to what effect it was that the agreement that's been reached would have. There are a few areas of conflict over the extent to which these amendments would reach, but we'll come to that a little later.

I want to go back to the question that I didn't really get an answer to. I asked the minister for a specific date and time about when drafting instructions were issued for the amendments that we now have, that we were provided with not long ago—within the last hour or so—and, of course, the supplementary explanatory memorandum. I'll ask that question again. I'd also be interested to know, in addition to that, when the drafted amendments were first seen by the government and those that they are doing this deal with—the Australian Greens and anyone else on the crossbench. I took great interest in the time line of the path to where we are today and the announcement that was made on 27 March. As you said, Minister, post discussions with a range of stakeholders including, as I understand it, members of the crossbench. What I was interested in is that a series of amendments have been moved that have material effect. They alter what was announced as part of your election package. They change what was taken to the election and they also change what was consulted on around August—8 August was the date you provided—and the consultation on the safeguard mechanism credit scheme on 10 October. They change what was introduced in November. I'm interested, post all of that—and you referenced discussions that culminated in the announcement on 27 March—in what public consultation there was around the detail of what we're talking about here. That's why I'm asking these questions about when instructions were issued for drafting. When were they seen? Who by? This is important in order to understand how much sunlight has been shone on the deal that's been done with the Greens. While we try and get our head around this, I will continue to ask these questions between now and when the Labor Party, in partnership with the Greens, will guillotine debate tomorrow on one of the most serious laws and the impact it will have on the economy. That will all be guillotined. We won't get a chance beyond one o'clock tomorrow to discuss this further, and it will be left to the people of Australia to make a decision about whether this was good or not.

I do have to take issue with some of the points that Senator Cox made. I appreciate anyone who comes into this place with strong conviction, but I'll tell you who we stand in the corner of, and that is in the corner of the consumer and the household that's paying more for electricity, for fuel, for food and on their mortgage. The consumer, the household and the business were all promised before the last election that these things would go down, but they're not. We will come to exactly how this legislation is going to put downward pressure, as Senator Farrell has said innumerable times this week, on the cost of living. I'd be interested in how this fits into this narrative the government has got running. How does the safeguard mechanism—and you don't have to answer this now, because we'll have a lot of time to answer this—drive down the cost of living for Australian households?

Going back to the questions at hand: when were drafting instructions issued? By whom? When were drafts returned? Who saw them? As a lead-in to us now having a debate in the Senate on amendments that were only circulated for us to consider and to vote on today, perhaps into tomorrow morning—