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

I know the coalition are very touchy about this and would like to shut down criticism of their long history of cruelty in this space, and I understand why the coalition want to stop this debate, because it's awkward actually looking the coalition's decades of cruelty in the face. It's awkward. As I said, I understand that some individual senators find it really personally challenging when they have to join in with these attacks on refugees. But they keep voting for this stuff, they keep electing leaders who produce this kind of cruelty and they were doubling down and backing in these changes. We heard it from the Leader of the Opposition here in the initial contribution—that they actually want this to be mean and nasty.

But, again, I want to go back to those NGOs, those human rights organisations—