David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Why is this urgent? This is urgent because, unless we stop this now, this ugly rush to the right of cruelty will just be a continuing play. This is urgent because the coalition and Labor are doing a stitch-up job on legislation that's still warm from the photocopiers, and the only reason they're agreeing to it is that it's brutal and cruel to refugees and asylum seekers. This is urgent because it is essential that we try to turn this chamber and this parliament around and finally have a shred of decency. This is urgent because when will Labor stop? What is the length to which Labor will go in order to try to outflank the coalition on being cruel to refugees and asylum seekers? Today we're getting a sense that there is no limit for the Albanese Labor government as to how brutally cruel they'll be to refugees in this race to the bottom against the coalition. This is urgent because where does it stop? Trying to outflank Peter Dutton on cruelty to asylum seekers is a no-win for Labor, for this chamber and for our country.

We heard the opposition say today that this motion is going to provide a transparent hearing to scrutinise the government's legislation. How are we going to hear from NGOs and from critical stakeholders in this space to seriously scrutinise around 100 pages of legislation and explanatory memorandum in a sham inquiry that you're trying to ram through in two hours tonight? That's about as transparent as a brick.

This is yet another example of how, when it comes to being cruel to people seeking asylum, the coalition and Labor just tip their brains out, tip their hearts out, and then just run this ugly race on unfairness and cruelty. This is urgent because we shouldn't be saying to the Australian public that the parliament thinks that a sham two-hour inquiry on legislation that's still warm from the photocopier is in any way doing our job of scrutinising legislation.

We know what's going to happen. Labor is going to stuff it up again—have it full of legal error, have it challenged in the High Court and then, when it all starts unravelling again, the coalition is going to say, 'Oh, Labor is hopeless and incompetent and terrible'. And they are probably right. Then we're going to have this whole sham process over again. This is an ongoing process of cruelty, let's be clear. This is months and months and months of ongoing cruelty, as Labor keep chasing the coalition to the right with this ugly politics. As Greens senators, as Greens representatives, we say no to that, and we are saying no to that here.