Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move a motion with other crossbench senators relating to the lack of legislative drafting capacity available to non-government senators.

Leave not granted.

Pursuant to contingent notice standing in my name, I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent me moving a motion to provide for the consideration of a matter, namely a motion to give precedence to a motion relating to legislative drafting resources for non-government senators.

Yesterday, I wrote a letter to the President of the Senate outlining our concerns about the under-resourcing of the procedural team and drafting office. The people in those teams work hard. We understand that, and I, like the other crossbenchers, always appreciate the work they do. But they are under-resourced, and you promised not to put us in this situation when you took staff off us. This is how much you give a stuff about people up here and the staff in that drafting office. Can you imagine the pressure they are under? When was the last time PWSS went down there and checked on them? When have they done their job? Have you had any Comcare claims from them? If you haven't, they're coming. Seriously—it is absolutely disgraceful.

This is not democracy. We can't get our stuff drafted, and you're trying to throw through 20 bills in a fortnight. What is wrong with you? My letter has called on the President to address this resourcing issue as soon as possible. I've written other letters to the President which haven't been actioned. That's my other problem. She's too scared to make a decision, yet she gets paid twice as much as most of us. The lack of resourcing is an absolute choke on democracy. The legislation that the government is trying to jam through is massive and has serious consequences if it is not correct and not amended. Getting the help of the drafting office to draft motion amendments and bills is absolutely essential for all of us to do our jobs properly. It is absolutely essential.

In early September, I asked the drafting office for assistance to draft around 15 amendments to the Veterans' Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Bill. After a royal commission, I'd think we would want to get onto this, yeah? But you're trying to ram that bill through this parliament. We can't get things drafted. We can't make changes more than two months on for things which should have been easy amendments. I have six amendments; that's all that I've been able to get done for the bill. That's it. I've got lives at risk, if you didn't hear about that royal commission and the people that took their lives, and the Kool-Aid these people are drinking over here, and how Veterans' Affairs has gone back to doing the same crap. And you won't let me do my amendments, because you are stopping this as a government.

You are in absolute chaos. You'll be lucky to get a minority—I never thought I'd say this—in the next election. You are falling apart. And for the pressure that you are putting on our staff and that drafting office you should be ashamed of yourselves. There are more crossbenchers in this parliament, and the procedures office workload has increased accordingly. In 2022-23, the procedures office drafted 86 second reading amendments and 1,049 committee of the whole amendments on 334 sheets, compared to the previous year of 63 second reading amendments and 747 committee of the whole amendments on 228 sheets. That's because you can't get your bills right. That's how many amendments we have to do. This is your fault. This is a 36 per cent and a 40 per cent workload increase respectively. Last parliament, the crossbench senators had more resources, but, once again, you took them off us and made us a promise that we would have more resources in the library and more resources in that drafting office. Did you lie to us? Or don't you want to see democracy going in action out there? Because, if your bills weren't so bad, then we wouldn't have to be using the drafting office.

But right now their health and wellbeing—and I notice none of you are looking at me—should be a concern for you. Don't you give a stuff about those people down there and their lives? I bet you they are working overtime. When did you go down and ask them how they are going? When are you going to put more resources in there? Quite seriously, if I knew the crossbench had the spine, I'd be telling them, 'Don't vote any more legislation through because we can't get our jobs done.' But I'm not sure they are as gung-ho as I am. Quite frankly, that is what we should be doing as a crossbench. You are shameful with the damage you are doing to that drafting office. (Time expired)