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

I just want to respond to some of the points that Senator McAllister made in reflecting on the vote that this chamber took before. It is true to say that the coalition is supportive of this legislation. We're also supportive of the Senate crossbench being able to interrogate all of the issues that they have with this legislation. To that end, that is why, along with Senator Pocock and the Australian Greens, we voted against a gagging of the debate—because there are questions they have, and I'm willing to allow them to continue to ask them until they have the answers that they are satisfied with. That is where we're at.

I'm happy to have discussions around how best to progress this legislation at some point, but good chamber management is a hallmark of good government. Here we are, four days in—as you said yourself, Senator McAllister—and we've not passed a single piece of government legislation. That is the government's fault. If they had done their job properly and worked with the opposition, perhaps we wouldn't be in this situation, but here we are.

Another hallmark of good government is, of course, having a policy agenda lined up properly. The environment portfolio is an absolute shambles. I tell you what, not only are we struggling to pass one of the most straightforward pieces of legislation of all time, which the majority of this chamber supports, but where are the EPBC Act reforms, which were something that we could not delay and that we actually had to get happening straightaway? There wasn't a day to lose, because we needed to stop new extinctions, and this government will save the environment by reforming the laws. Well, colleagues, where are those reforms? They're not here. They're 18 months behind! They had a consultation period on 30 and 31 October. No-one knows what went on, except that it was written about recently and, to no surprise on my part, I suppose, but perhaps to great disappointment in the community, there are a few pages of principles. After 18 months, all this government has managed to muster together in one of their signature pieces of policy from the last election are a few pages of principles to replace over a thousand pages of legislation to protect our natural environment. It's appalling.

The Nature Repair Market Bill 2023 is off in the never-never now because they haven't been able to do their work properly—it's another example of failure in this portfolio. And this bill is stalled in the Senate because the government can't get its act together. Four days in, the only legislation that has passed this place is what was originally government legislation that they refused to bring on to do with the Australian workplace—to protect workers and improve rights. They wouldn't bring it on. The Australian Labor Party, the so-called friend of the worker, wouldn't bring it on. We're still here debating this sea-dumping bill, and Senator David Pocock and Senator Jacqui Lambie brought their bills on for them—and passed them, the only legislation that has passed the parliament this week.