Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

What an unlooked-for opportunity, with a couple of minutes to go before we have two-minute contributions being led off, I think, by Senator Henderson. In this Senate-only week, it should be the Senate's time to shine. It should be the Senate's opportunity to show the people of Australia what a house of review can achieve in terms of improving government legislation and subjecting the work of the government and the parliament to proper critical review. But the problem is that this Senate—or a very large part of it—has stopped doing its job. Well-paid senators are bludging here and engaging in student politics—not real politics for Australian people.