Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

'No wonder he's not their leader,' I hear from the back! No wonder he finds himself a member of the Albanese government rather than of a Shorten government, if this is the contempt shown to the Senate, the opposition, the crossbench and even his own senators.

These are not trivial areas of government policy. Services Australia is, as shadow minister Fletcher has pointed out, one of the largest Commonwealth agencies. Each year it's responsible for delivering billions of dollars worth of vital services and payments to some of the most vulnerable Australians. The questions we pursue are firmly in the public interest, just as the questions we've asked previously in relation to the National Disability Insurance Scheme are in the public interest. They're seeking to hold the government to account. They're seeking to ensure that government agencies—those operating within Mr Shorten's portfolio—are accountable, are transparent and are living up to the types of things the Labor Party said they would deliver but have not delivered.

I hear Senator Ciccone wanting to talk about when we were in government.