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

In reference to OPDs or otherwise, let's note that today is a day when there are about 20 motions for consideration during the afternoon. We've proposed something that respects the Senate and respects those processes.

The government, because of an attitude not unlike the Prime Minister's—they just have to do it their way—said, 'Well, let's do it now.'

The consequence of the government's motion will likely be to wipe the rest of the day's business and leave a situation where things stack up and roll over to tomorrow—quite unnecessarily so. My urging to the crossbench, to the Greens, is to reject the government's motion. I urge you to support the coalition's motion, but whether you support it or not is your business. The Labor Party should support the coalition's motion, the substantive motion, because that's the one that will get the bills done today, as the Prime Minister wants them done today, even though it won't make a jot of difference whether they're done today or tomorrow. But I do urge the crossbench to not fall into the trap of the government's amendment, which is just about the government being seen to have it their way. Their way actually gets in the way of most of the things that the crossbench in this place usually value: the right to have their motions considered and the right to have them done on the days they're scheduled.