Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm actually rapt to speak to this matter of public importance, and I thank my good friend Senator Scarr, who I have the highest respect and regard for as one of the really intelligent, better operators on that side of the chamber, for it.

Let's take a walk through Senate estimates. For my sins in a previous life, I think I've just done my 53rd estimate round. I don't know what I did wrong to get to 53, but anyway! Senate estimates, as Senator Scarr said, are very important. They're an opportunity for the crossbench and the opposition to go through the budget and ask questions about it, and we want them to do that. I know when I've been in opposition that's what we've wanted to do.

I'm on the rural and regional affairs and transport committee. We have two portfolios. Regional development, transport and infrastructure is one; the other is two days of agriculture. These are two very important portfolios for this nation. I want to hear senators ask questions, so prior to Senate estimates—just so the gallery and anyone listening know—I'm glad we're broadcasting—the Senate legislation committees meet a month or six weeks before estimates and we ask senators: 'Which agencies and which parts of the department do you want? Who do you want to hear from?' We don't hold back. We say, 'Just tell us who we'll have.'

We try to manage the time we have, so we set an agenda. It's very fluid because years ago brainiacs in this joint thought they were so intelligent they brought forward a motion to allow senators to talk all day, question all day, ask the same tedious, repetitive questions all day with no regard to time limits. This infuriates me. We see it. This is what happens. We get a list of witnesses, and they come. And I am sick to death—I sit there, trying to manage the program as the chair. When I say to my colleagues—my committee used to be one of the most collegiate committees in this building. Unfortunately, in this parliament it's one of the worst. That's not a scourge on members of the opposition; it's just the odd senator who comes in and disrupts.

We have people who travel from interstate because the Senate has informed them that they will be appearing at whatever time it may be on this day, give or take half an hour, hopefully, or whatever it may be. This time I got to the stage where I'd keep walking up to my colleagues and saying: 'We've got people from interstate. You've got them sitting here. Are we going to get to them?' It's not my business, because unfortunately the brainiacs thought it was a great idea to let senators dribble crap—sorry! I withdraw that! Senators dribble on all day about things that have nothing to do with the budget. I ask, 'Can we at least tell those people from interstate we are sorry we have wasted your money; we've got you to book airfares and get cars to get here and get accommodation or whatever it may be.' I don't mind if we don't get to them, so long as I can say to them and say, 'Look, I really do apologise, but the opposition still wants more time to ask the same damned questions that they've been asking for the last three hours.'

But this time around there wasn't even the decency to give me the opportunity to say to the witnesses, 'We're not going to get to you.' There was one agency in particular. I said: 'These people were supposed to be on at 12 o'clock or 12.30. It's now 4.30. Are we going to get to them?' These three gentlemen from this RDC had to catch an airplane back to Narrabri, I think it was. They had flown from Narrabri to Sydney, down to Canberra the night before so that they didn't get caught in fog or anything. They wanted to do the right thing. They wanted to address all the senators' concerns about taxpayers' dollars being spent. No! You know what I got? I got one of the opposition senators, whose not even a full-time member of our committee, who sat there and said, 'Well, we're here to 11 o'clock.' So what? How rude was that? All they wanted to do was get a taxi out and get to the airport, so they could get the flight back to Sydney to catch their late night flight back to Narrabri. And the rudeness from that senator, who I've unfortunately had in my committee for the last two or three rounds of Senate estimates, couldn't even be decent enough to deal with people.

So I'm really glad that my dear friend Senator Scarr gave me the opportunity to raise this, because it really irks me. And some on that side will say, 'You did it to us.' Well, you know what? Not me. I always sat there, as the deputy chair in opposition, and said, 'We won't get to these people. I'll let you know so we can let them go.' At least I had the decency to do that. (Time expired)