John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations (Senator Evans) to a question without notice asked by Senator Adams today relating to comments concerning the 'Convoy of No Confidence'.

I am disgusted about the comments from Minister Albanese, who said that yesterday's and today's convoy was a 'convoy of no consequence'. It is an absolute disgrace. People are out here because they are concerned about the direction of our nation. These are the ordinary Aussie battlers—the truckies, the small business people, the people out there who are doing it tough to make a living. That is why they are here. It gets worse. We had the Greens leader, Senator Bob Brown, saying they are a 'smorgasbord of whingers'. I will make a comparison: at least they behaved themselves in a civil fashion. We cannot say that about Senator Bob Brown. Back in the Franklin River dispute he actually went to jail for 19 days. Some 1,500 people were charged for their misbehaviour. We did not see any of that out here. That is the truth of the matter. Senator Brown was sent to Risdon Prison, I think. I am not familiar with the facility. You might be, Mr Deputy President, as you hail from down that way.

The point is this: the people came here to genuinely express their concern about the direction of our nation. The truckies are concerned and I am sure Senator Sterle would be concerned about the death tax, as it was called by Tony Sheldon, National Secretary of the Transport Workers Union. The evidence he gave to our committee was that this extra almost 7c a litre due on 1 July 2014 is a death tax on the trucking industry. Harder work, longer hours, more stress on the drivers, more stress on the trucks: that is the last thing we want. We want our truckies to get home safely to their families and loved ones. They were out there expressing their concerns over the direction of our country and the proposed diesel tax, come 2014, on the truckies—almost 7c taken off the rebate, that very rebate of 18½c that the coalition got the truckies when it was in government, following the introduction of the GST. We have already lost 3½c under this government and it is now proposing 7c. Our concern is more costs with respect to their livelihood, harder work, longer hours and more stress on the truckies—that is what Mr Sheldon said to our committee.

As I said, I find it a disgrace when you have the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese, calling it a 'convoy of no consequence'. It was the Prime Minister who said, 'We'll be transparent; we'll wear out boot leather to tell people about the carbon tax.' Who was out there from the government yesterday? No-one. They were in hiding, under the shelter of these walls and roofs around us. Why did they not go out and talk to the people? Where is the transparency, which the Prime Minister assured us of? She said she would wear out the shoe leather and explain this tax. After a week or so that was the end of the wearing out of shoe leather—and no resoling of the shoes were required.

People are coming to Canberra because they are annoyed, they are frustrated, they are in business and they can see the direction in which our nation is going, and they know that the debt is going up and up and up, to $197 billion as of last Friday. They know who will have to pay for it in future generations. They know about the waste of money. We have been through it all in this place—the pink batts, the school buildings, the Green Loans and so on. People are concerned about the cost of living and the cost of running a business.

Before the 2007 election, Mr Rudd said, 'We in government will put downward pressure on grocery prices and fuel prices.' Everyone knows that it was just political waffle. That is why the people are out here protesting. It is so demeaning, destructive, disgusting and absolutely disgraceful to refer to those genuine, hardworking Aussies in that sort of manner.

This government take the Aussie battlers and treats them with complete contempt. They do not understand. Most government senators in this place have just dropped in by parachuting out of the trade union movement. Now we have the actual Transport Workers Union agreeing with us that this is a death tax. That is why the truckies are down here. They have come from far and wide—from Darwin, Western Australia and Rockhampton. That is a big effort in tough times. A lot more would have been here if they could have afforded the time and the money. Unfortunately, they could not. I condemn what the government and government leaders have said on this matter. (Time expired)

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Do not leave yet, Senator Williams! I was really enjoying that contribution. May I take it that, on behalf of the Transport Workers Union, all Australian truck drivers and the government, when safe rates are implemented in this country, through the other House and this chamber, that you, Senator Williams, and your colleagues in the Nationals and the Liberals will be on this side of the chamber voting through that legislation to deliver safe rates? Is that how I take that, Senator Williams? You are on Hansard, and there will be no place for you to hide should you, through you, Mr Acting Deputy President, not come to this side of the chamber to pass that legislation to ensure that every Australian truck driver is paid and remunerated a very safe and sustainable rate. Do not leave, Senator Williams; there is more!

Senator Williams interjecting—

Unfortunately, I only have four minutes left, but I am rubbing my hands at the great news that the coalition will be supporting the government's safe rates legislation for Australian truckies.

Senator Williams interjecting—

I just heard Senator Williams, as he was scurrying out, say he did not say that. Maybe we will print the Hansard, Senator Williams, as we distribute it to all Australian truck drivers, because you were supporting the legislation no less than one minute 30 seconds ago.

I am a firm believer that every Australian has the right to protest and I have been involved in numerous protests. And do you know what?

I will still be protesting when I believe the cause is right. I will be protesting alongside Qantas workers who will find themselves on the scrapheap. I would support any person who would travel around this country to come to Canberra to support safe rates, but this is very misleading. I have read numerous stories. It is not for me to say how many demonstrators were out there—whether there were 200, 300 or 500, whatever the number; whether there were 50 trucks, 300 trucks. The number was not massive because the protestors had talked it up.

The misleading statements from Senator Williams must be clarified. Not at one stage did I read a piece of material or did I hear on any electronic media a report that those drivers—the truck drivers, not the caravaners—were here protesting on a safe rate. I heard that there were protests about a whole new world order. I heard that there were protests against the ban of the export of live cattle. I heard there were protests against the mining tax. I heard there were protests against the carbon tax. Not once did I read, hear or see one reference to a safe rate for Australia's truck drivers.

I could not take that protest seriously because I do believe that there were probably some very decent hardworking Australians who had it right, and that is fine. But when you have people saying, 'Roll along, come and join us, there are going to be thousands and thousands of people protesting in Canberra,' then they get here and it is a fizz-off, it is a little bit embarrassing for them.

The shameful bit here was the carry on from the resident big mouth, and I do not back down from those words. I am sure that half of the senators on the other side of this chamber would be embarrassed by Alan Jones's behaviour. With the greatest of respect, he attacked journalists because they were not reporting it the way he wanted it reported. Would it not be wonderful if we had the ability to denigrate Alan Jones on his show in the way he denigrates people who do not agree—

Opposition senators interjecting—

Here comes the cacophony of lunatics on the other side running to Alan Jones's defence. The man is not worth defending. Some of you senators on that side of the chamber really are above the way Alan Jones carries on. Going back to my opening statement. I did not support the convoy because I saw it as a group of people who had some manure on their liver who just wanted to vent their spleen. That is fine, not a drama. I will have to put a phone call into Tony Sheldon and say that I sat in this chamber and had the extreme pleasure—I am so excited, I can hardly contain it—to hear that the Nationals, and I take it the coalition partners, the Liberals, cannot wait for a safe sustainable rate being paid to Australia's truck drivers. (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business and Fair Competition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The most notable contribution made by Senator Sterle was the fact that he did not repeat the words of the Leader of the House. When Senator Evans was asked this question earlier this afternoon, he went to a great deal of trouble not to repeat the words of the Leader of the House yesterday. With that contribution, I am sure Senator Sterle has guaranteed his preselection again, assuming there are lots of TWU delegates and that that they will be very happy with that vaguely relevant contribution to the discussion we are having.

I challenge those from the government side who come after me: repeat the words of the Leader of the House. Repeat the accusations and the slurs made towards those who were protesting yesterday, because only an arrogant, conceited government would dismiss citizens who come to Canberra to protest against them as inconsequential.

On this side, we are used to protests, particularly when they are organised by some of the more thuggish elements of the union movement. There was an example back here in 1996 where vandalism was committed on Parliament House. This side does not seek to dismiss those who protest; it seeks to engage them. This government runs around shouting out the words 'Hawke' and 'Keating' as though they represent the Holy Spirit, hoping for some sort of political Pentecost, to give them some inspiration in politics. The only tongues that come out of this government are the tongues of mistruth, arrogance and conceit. This government does not actually want to engage with people who disagree with it; it seeks to ride roughshod over them. It seeks to say one thing before an election and do the opposite afterwards, and then simply hope that the people will forget by the next poll.

This government will be held to account for its words. These words uttered by the Leader of the House yesterday when he referred to the inconsequential protesters, the convoy of the inconsequential, are going to hang around this government's neck like an albatross—just like former Prime Minister Paul Keating's little quip to those university students in 1995 when there was 10 per cent unemployment and he told them to go get a job—how dare they challenge the great and wise then Prime Minister Paul Keating; he could just flick them off and tell them to go get a job. That hung around that Prime Minister's neck right through to the 1996 election, and it is one of the things he is remembered for by those who were trying to get a job at the time. Sadly, unlike during the government that came after that of Paul Keating, there were many more people desperately looking for work.

From the Greens we expect terms like whingers and moaners; from the Greens we expect the vilification of those who disagree with them. The New South Wales branch supports occupations, it supports efforts to vilify particular businesses by virtue of who owns them—

Senator Marshall interjecting—

I said the New South Wales Greens support occupations, as we have seen recently in Melbourne. What I find truly amazing is that we can have illegal picket lines, we can have picket lines where people have to be bused to work behind blackened windows to keep them safe, we can have the sort of appalling behaviour that took place on the waterfront at East Swanson Dock in Melbourne just over a decade ago—

Senator Marshall interjecting—

Yes, and the death threats to their workers, and the blackened windows on the buses, and ignoring Supreme Court orders in Victoria—we can have all that, but how dare 400 people turn up on the lawns of this parliament to actually complain. All they are asking the govern­ment to do it is to live up to the words of the Prime Minister days before the last election. How dare they come here. Illegal picket lines, thuggery on picket lines and bus windows being blackened so workers cannot be identified because of threats to them and their family are okay, but how dare 400 people come here and ask the government to only do what its Prime Minister said she would days before the last election.

This government has absolutely no credibility on this issue because of what it supports in the industrial relations framework. More importantly, the words uttered by the Leader of the House yesterday that these people were inconsequential will reverberate through the Australian community and they will reverberate because every Australian knows that if a government can say that about the 400 people who came to Canberra yesterday it actually thinks that about them as well. How dare they disagree! This government will be held accountable for those words.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think Senator Ryan is reliving his university student days with such a contribution. He should have tried to put some substance into his speech.

Senator Ryan interjecting—

I did not go to university, Senator Ryan, so I missed that joyous time that many on your side must have revelled in and miss deeply. I ask Senator Ryan not to leave the chamber because I am indebted to him for clarifying on the public record that there were 400 people at the rally. I thought Senator Macdonald had claimed that there were 8,000. Either you or Senator Macdonald is clearly misleading the chamber, and I thought you might stay and clarify whether it was him or you. I see that you are leaving the chamber, because that would be an embarrassing clarification for you to make. I did not go out there so I am not going to take a guess. The Australian is certainly no friend of the Labor Party and it claimed there were 300—but who is counting.

We as a party and as a government have always respected people's rights to protest. But we have nothing to apologise for and certainly the Leader of the House has nothing to apologise for. We were not criticising the people's right to protest—we are very happy with that and we are happy to listen to them. But the organisers of this protest said tens of thousands of people would be descending on Canberra and that a demonstration by those numbers would be a message to the Gillard government to resign. Overwhelming numbers of Australians were going to descend on Canberra and we were going to be forced to resign from govern­ment. Instead of tens of thousands coming, 400 came. Given the claims that the protesters made, instead of having tens of thousands, we got 400. Quite frankly, it was inconsequential in terms of their objectives of overwhelming Canberra and sending us a message to resign. It was never inconse­quential for people to actually come and protest. People have that right and I encourage people to do so. But when you look at the aims, and it was an ideologically motivated protest when you look at the nature of the organiser in the first place, their claim was that they were going to flood Canberra with trucks and tens of thousands of people. Well, that did not eventuate. What did The Australian, no friend of the Labor Party, say? I quote:

It was meant to draw thousands of disenfranchised Australians demanding a fresh election, but yesterday's 'convoy of no confidence' was more fizzle than fury.

I think they have got it right, too. The newspaper article goes on to talk about rally organiser Mick Pattel standing by his views that climate action could be considered a global conspiracy. There we have it. No wonder they could not get tens of thousands of people. I do not think tens of thousands of people actually believe that climate change is some sort of global conspiracy.

But who is this Mr Pattel? I have not done my own research. I do not normally like relying on newspapers, so I put that precondition on it. But, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, the organiser, Mr Mick Pattel, is a former Liberal-National party candidate in Queensland. What a surprise that is. This international conspiracy theorist was a candidate for the National-Liberal party in Queensland and he organised apparently this overwhelming group of tens of thousands of people that turned into 400 to descend on Canberra. Quite frankly, that was a flop and a failure; that did not send us any messages at all. All that said was that we can trust that Australians do not believe that climate change is some part of an international conspiracy. They are a wake-up to being used and manipulated by Liberal-National party candidates. They are smarter than that. We give them a lot more credit than that. It is a pity that you on that side do not.

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a sad day yesterday was for Australian democracy.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What?

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can tell you why I am saying that, Senator Marshall. This government has dropped to new lows. How dare you say to the people of Australia out there on that lawn that their views do not count because, gosh, there were not a few more of them. Mr Albanese called the event a 'convoy of no consequence'. If it is no consequence, he is saying their views are of no consequence, and that is a very sad day for this government. By your own admission, Senator Marshall, you would not even go out there; you did not have the guts to go out there and stand in front of those people and listen to them.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point of order, Mr Deputy President: the senator is clearly misleading the Senate.

Senator Nash interjecting—

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Do you have a point of order, Senator Marshall?

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No.

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Marshall for conceding there was no point of order. But what a sad day it was. How dare this government say to the people of Australia, 'You can't come to this place, come to the lawns in front of Parliament House, and be taken seriously.'

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No-one said that.

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Listen to what I am saying, Senator Marshall. 'You cannot come out there and be taken seriously,' because you are not taking it seriously. Yesterday, the moral fibre of this government dropped lower than its polling. It is appalling that they are not taken seriously. How dare Minister Albanese say that it was a convoy of no consequence. Those people had come from all around Australia because they are worried about the future of this country.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How many? How many?

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Marshall keeps interjecting saying, 'How many? How many?' Obviously size does matter to Senator Marshall because it is of no consequence whatsoever to what happened yesterday. Every single—

Senator Fifield interjecting—

I will take the interjection. Senator Fifield says, 'He's not the only one!' Yesterday, it did not matter if there was one person who turned up. It did not matter if there were 10, 15 or 5,000. Every single one of those Australians had every right to be taken seriously and to have their voice heard. They were not. Not one single member of this government bothered to go and listen. They did not have to stand up there and say anything. They could have simply gone out and listened to the Australian people, but they chose not to.

Isn't it interesting, colleagues. Senator Marshall and others say how dreadful it is that there were not more people. Gosh, how many people were standing on the lawns yesterday supporting a carbon tax? How many people were standing on the lawn in front of Parliament House last week supporting a carbon tax, Senator Cash? How many people have been standing anywhere in this country supporting a carbon tax? Guess what, Senator Marshall? If you have a look—miniscule; hardly any. So don't you dare tell these people, who took time away from their jobs and families at great expense to themselves simply because they wanted to have their voice heard, that you are not going to take any notice of them because there were not more of them, when hardly anybody is supporting the carbon tax.

Senator Marshall interjecting—

You are absolutely obsessed with numbers and size aren't you, Senator Marshall? It is extraordinary, and this from the government—

Senator Marshall interjecting—

You still cannot listen, Senator Marshall. If you are quiet you might learn something. This government still says it supports families. If it truly supported working families, Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her government would have listened to those families yesterday. Senator Marshall, if you had taken the time to go out there and meet those people and talk to them like I and lot of my colleagues on the coalition side did, you would find out that they are not a moaners brigade, as Senator Bob Brown was calling them, and they are not a smorgasbord of whingers. They are down to earth, genuine Australians who care about the future of this country. But you would not know that, Senator Marshall, and neither would your Prime Minister, because you could not be bothered—you are too arrogant. You do not want to listen. If it is something you do not want to listen to, forget it; just ridicule it.

I think it is absolutely appalling that, if this is what the government thinks, that if somebody has a different view and they come to the lawns of Parliament House, the government says, 'Gee, if there is not enough of you we will ridicule that.' What a very, very sad day for this country it was, and it just shows the depth to which this government has fallen. You are inept and you cannot run the country. (Time expired)

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I remind senators that all matters should be directed through the chair.

Question agreed to.