Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move a motion that the Senate declares that it has no confidence in the government's ability to govern itself.

Leave not granted.

I move:

That, pursuant to contingent notice, so much of 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 that the Senate declare that it has no confidence in the government's ability to govern itself.

Just moments ago the House of Representatives voted 73 to 71 to suspend standing orders to allow a motion of this nature to be debated; but, unfortunately, on a technicality it could not proceed. It would be fair to say that Australia has never suffered from a more dysfunctional government. Those of us who are old enough can remember the Whitlam debacle; and, of course, more recently in our memory we remember the Rudd debacle. But on top of those two there is that crowning glory known as the Gillard government.

This Gillard government, if you will recall, had to be installed because Mr Rudd and Labor had lost control of our borders, could not deliver a surplus and had to get the carbon tax bedded down. Remember all those reasons that you needed a change of leadership for this country? And what a rich irony it is—yet very, very sad—that a day in our nation's history that should be devoted to Harmony Day and that should be set aside for the consideration of the national apology to those impacted by forced adoptions should have all that pushed aside by the bloodlust of those opposite in their own internal machinations. No discussion about the cost of living pressures, no discussion about border protection, no genuine discussion about the issues facing the people who were confronted by forced adoptions—what we have is Mr Crean and ministers everywhere going out, leaking, holding press conferences saying that they want to get rid of the Prime Minister. That is a matter for those opposite to determine, and I believe that they will ultimately make that determination later on today.

As the fundamental issues confronting our nation need to be addressed, Labor is self-absorbed and Labor is self-indulgent in talking about itself; talking about positions; talking about who is going to get what, when, where and how rather than what is in the best interests of our nation. Indeed, the revolving door of leadership by Eddie Obeid seems to have hit Canberra big time. It seems as though the dysfunctional Rudd government needed to be replaced by the dysfunctional Gillard government only to be re-replaced by the dysfunctional Rudd government!

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Where's Bob Carr?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Where is Senator Bob Carr when you need him? There is no talk about the people's welfare, cost of living or our nation's future. All we have is this ugly, self-indulgent talk about leadership. And the man who fronted the TV cameras immediately after the national apology had this to say about Mr Rudd: 'He can't be Prime Minister again.' Oh, I forgot: that was only 12 months ago. Today, supposedly, he can be Prime Minister. Indeed, the member for Bendigo said, 'Only a psychopath with a giant ego would line up again.' Listen to the stories of the chaos, of the temperament, of the inability to have decisions made. They are not stories; they were fact according to one of Ms Gillard's cabinet ministers.

Now I ask the Senate, I ask the Australian people: was the dysfunction of the Rudd government bad? Absolutely it was, and Mr Burke nailed it with those comments. But it does beg a further question: is Australia in better shape today than she was under Kevin Rudd's leadership? Whilst Kevin Rudd's leadership was dysfunctional—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You need to refer to people by their correct titles.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Whilst Mr Rudd's leadership was dysfunctional, it was a beacon of light compared to Ms Gillard's.

This is an important occasion for our nation. This is a government that is in disarray. It is dysfunctional, it is no longer serving the needs of the Australian people, and the Senate should express an opinion.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Another cheap stunt from those opposite. They have the opportunity to ask ministers at the table questions, and what are they reduced to? They do not want to ask a question in question time about the 71,500 new jobs created in this economy in February—the highest since July 2000. They do not want to ask about the growth of the economy in the December quarter of 3.1 per cent compared to the 10-year average of three per cent. They do not want to ask a question about the low unemployment rate of 5.4 per cent, well below the OECD average of eight per cent. They do not want to talk about the 900,000 jobs created since Labor came to office despite 28 million jobs lost worldwide. They do not want to ask a question about the inflation rate of 2.2 per cent, below the 10-year average of 2.8 per cent. They have a chance today to ask about the interest rate cash rate sitting at three per cent, lower than at any time during the Howard government—and that was the government that went to an election promising there will always be lower interest rates under a Liberal Party. The interest rates today are lower than at any time during the previous, Howard government.

We have the LaRouche economics faction down in the far corner: Senator Barnaby Joyce, who wants to talk about debt. He wants to talk about debt all the time, 'Let's talk about debt; let's talk about net debt'. No, he just wants to try and fudge the numbers—show that he can do the job by fudging the numbers—and he got sacked. He got sacked because he could not manage to describe any economic rationalist position.

The net debt that we have in this country as a percentage of GDP is peaking at around one tenth of major advanced economies. And yet those opposite, particularly the LaRouchian economics faction down in the corner, think about debt and make references to Greece. He talks about Greece all the time. He walks out and does a doorstop: 'Oh, no—that's Greece. That's Greece here'. Well, Mr President, debt is one-tenth of the level across major advanced economies. And did we get a question today about the AAA credit rating that we have from all three ratings agencies? This is something those opposite were never, never able to achieve.

Not everyone is on easy street. There are patchy conditions due to factors like the high dollar, factors like changing consumer patterns and ongoing global challenges. But the global economy is changing, technology is changing, and we can and should grasp the jobs and the opportunities that these changes will create. The Gillard government is getting on with the job of addressing the real issues facing Australians. That is why we are building the National Broadband Network.

Just this morning I demonstrated a brand new cutting-edge technology developed by the CSIRO in conjunction with the National Museum of Australia. And what did they have to say? What did we have to demonstrate? An extraordinary educational tool for every child in Australia. You can now take a tour of the museum here in Canberra no matter where you live. You do, of course, need one thing—a lot of bandwidth. And that bandwidth cannot be delivered on a piece of copper. Access to education services and access to health services should not be determined by how close you live to an exchange or, under the opposition's failing plan, how close you live to a node. The copper in the ground cannot deliver the next generation of health services, of aged-care services, of disability services or of educational services. (Time expired)

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier today the whole nation was looking at our parliament, and the whole nation was actually for once quite proud of its parliament, I would have thought, because this morning we had a highly significant—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order on my left! Senator Milne is entitled to be heard in silence.

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This morning the whole nation would have been proud of this parliament because of the apology for forced adoptions meant so much to so many people. There were at least 800 to 1,000 people here in the Great Hall, and around the country many hundreds of thousands more: watching, reflecting and thinking about what had happened and being given, for once, some leadership from the parliament across all parties, saying, 'We are sorry; we care.'

I think it is really a very sad thing that the apology this morning is now being overshadowed by stunts such as this and by the behaviour that is—

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Milne is entitled to be heard in silence. On my left!

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said, the dignity of the occasion and the day has been overshadowed by events which have taken over subsequently, particularly by the behaviour here—the disruption of question time and, indeed, by Senator Joyce waving bye-bye. It was reminiscent of that children's program, 'Andy is waving bye-bye,' but it is Senator Joyce who is doing that right now and behaving in such a manner as would be recognised only by those who are familiar with children's TV.

I think there are many things which need to be discussed in the national interest. The Greens have serious questions to ask of the government, and if the coalition has no intention of asking questions then we are quite up to the task of continuing to ask questions.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The motion that Senator Abetz has moved is the most serious motion that a parliament can consider—that is, a motion to enable the discussion on whether the government continues to have the confidence of the parliament. It tells you everything you need to know. It tells you everything you need to know about the flippancy and about the contempt for the institution of parliament by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Conroy and the Leader of the Greens, Senator Milne, that they would characterise the most important business that can ever be brought to a parliament—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! On my left and on my right, and at the other end of the chamber—Senator Brandis is entitled to be heard in silence.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They would characterise the most important, the most solemn, motion that can ever be considered by this chamber as a stunt. It was not the opposition, it was not Senator Abetz or Mr Tony Abbott, who called a press conference in the Mural Hall two hours ago to declare that this government was so riven, so dysfunctional and in such disarray that Mr Simon Crean, an elder statesman of the Australian Labor Party, a former leader of the Australian Labor Party and a senior member of Ms Gillard's cabinet, called for there to be a party room ballot—which I understand there will be in an hour and a half's time—to terminate the Prime Ministership of Julia Gillard. Furthermore, not 20 minutes ago, there occurred on the floor of the House of Representatives an event with few precedents in Australian political history, when a motion moved by the opposition received 73 affirmative votes and 71 negative votes, with Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor—and Mr Wilkie, but in particular Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor—the people who have kept this government in being for three tawdry years, deciding that even they had had enough. So they voted with the opposition and the government was defeated by 73 votes to 71. Now, Mr President, as you know, under House of Representatives standing orders, a motion of that kind requires an absolute majority of members to pass it and therefore, because fewer than 76 people voted for the motion, it was not passed. But, nevertheless, the government was defeated. It is the first time since the fall of the government of Stanley Melbourne Bruce in September 1929 that a government has been defeated on a substantive issue on the floor of the House of Representatives.

We have, in our democracy, a way of resolving these disputes. It is called an election. If Mr Tony Windsor, Mr Andrew Wilkie and Mr Rob Oakeshott—who have kept this government in power—have at last said to their constituents and to the Australian people, 'Even we have had enough,' then wouldn't you think, out of decency and out of self-respect, the ministers who remained in this government would say, 'Well it's about time we let the people choose'? Our government has lost the confidence of the House of Representatives, it has lost the confidence of the people who agreed to support it and sustain it in office, and the Prime Minister has lost the confidence of senior minister after senior minister—not just Mr Simon Crean. She does not have the confidence of Senator Kim Carr; she does not have the confidence of Senator Penny Wong, who sold her out for 30 pieces of silver. We have a situation now in which the government is split wide open and in disarray, and whatever the outcome of this ballot today —coincidentally a ballot being held on the 50th anniversary to the day of the famous faceless men photograph outside the Kingston Hotel on 21 March 1963—the faceless men will have made the call. The fact that there are two sides of faceless men in a faceless civil war against each other does not change the fact that the faceless men made the call. They got rid of Kevin Rudd and they are getting rid of Julia Gillard—it is time to get rid of the faceless men!

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think, in that wind-up, Senator Brandis demonstrated yet again what this is really all about. This is all about the longest dummy-spit in Australian political history, which is that the opposition have never accepted the result of the last election.

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong, just resume your seat. Order on both sides!

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If anybody in this country ever doubted that the Liberal Party had come to this place with a born-to-rule attitude, they just have to watch Senator George Brandis today as he lectured us about why he should be in a position of power, puffed up and pompous as he always is. But what he demonstrates, more importantly than all of that, is this absolute view that they are born to rule. Well, let me tell you this, Mr President: we on this side believe in a fair Australia, a just Australia, and I was very interested that Senator Brandis said that the motion before the chamber was the most important and most solemn thing a parliament could do. Unlike him, on this side we think an increase to the pension was a pretty important thing to do; we think a National Disability Insurance Scheme is a pretty important thing to do; we think fair wages and conditions for Australian workers and their families are a pretty important thing to do; we think ensuring we have a strong economy is a pretty important thing to do; we think tax breaks and tax cuts for low-income Australians are a pretty important thing to do; we think increases in superannuation are a pretty important thing to do; we think increasing the wages for the low-paid workers who work in domestic violence centres and in social and community services was a pretty important thing to do—and the list goes on. The difference in Australian political history, as was on display, between that side and this side is that we are about the future. We are about a just Australia, a fair Australia and a strong economy for today and for tomorrow. Those on the other side have always been about privilege.

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong, you just might resume your seat. Order! Other speakers have been heard in reasonable silence; I expect that to remain.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If anyone ever doubted that the Liberal Party are about privilege they only needed to look at Senator Brandis today: 'My motion is more important than pensioners getting a pay increase. My motion is more important than fair wages and conditions. My motion is more important than fair and reasonable tax rates. My motion is more important than superannuation for working people'—and I could go on. This opposition is entirely addicted to negativity.

Senator Brandis interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong, just resume your seat. Senator Brandis, I remind you that it is disorderly to continually disrupt the debate.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Those on the other side are utterly addicted to negativity. When the country, the nation, asks for vision, what we get from those opposite is nasty personal attacks. When the nation wants policy, you can always guarantee you will get pettiness from the other side. Those on the other side have always been interested in frightening people, scaring people and dividing Australians. That is the legacy of the Howard government, and that is absolutely where the Abbott opposition are. You are always interested in division and in lowering people's sights, lowering people's aspirations.

We have a different view. We are the Labor Party and we are about ensuring opportunity, we are about ensuring a strong economy and we are about ensuring more fairness.

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Senator Brandis interjecting—

Senator Abetz interjecting—

Order! Senator Wong.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You only have to listen to the interjections—people here might not be able to hear them—to hear nasty personal jibes from the other side. That is all you are up for. When has anyone ever heard Senator Abetz or Senator Brandis espouse anything that made you feel uplifted? When have you ever heard the Abbott opposition, Tony Abbott, Mr Abbott—when have you ever heard him lift the country up? He only runs the country down and runs the economy down if he thinks it is in his political interests. The same is on display today with Senator Abetz and Senator Brandis because, ultimately, this is an opposition who can only do one thing, and that is attack. That is the only thing this opposition is able to do, and it is still doing it today. All it can do is engage in the politics of personal negativity and personal attack. This opposition will never uplift the nation. This opposition will never bring fairness. And this opposition will never ensure a strong economy today and in the future.

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, just then, Mr President, the member for Hotham, Simon Findlay Crean, has been sacked. This government is now chaotic. It is out of control. It is beyond contempt that the former leader of the Labor Party, a person who is highly respected, has been sacked by a Prime Minister who has gone completely and utterly rogue. The Prime Minister has gone rogue. The country is without leadership. It is chaotic. I look at Senator Conroy; the man looks like he has seen a ghost, and the ghost looks awfully like Senator Cameron.

We have to do something about trying to bring some sanity back into where this nation is. It surely cannot go on like this. We know that there are decent people on the Labor side: Minister Ferguson, Minister Crean—I have to say it—former Minister Evans, former Minister Faulkner. There are decent people, but this chaos has got to come to a conclusion. The Australian people deserve better than this. You cannot use the Australian nation as some sort of plaything for a manic cat. This is out of control—totally and utterly out of control.

Now we have Mr Windsor with Mr Oakeshott and Mr Wilkie who have moved votes of no confidence. Well, I told you so: that first they would cripple you, then they would kill you—that is exactly what they would do. Why on earth would you have hitched your caravan to those people? They have done nothing but drag you into oblivion. And here are the other ones, right beside us here: the Greens, with their crazy policies, one after the other, after the other, after the other. They took you on a trip on the carbon tax and destroyed your party. They took you on a trip banning the live cattle trade and destroyed your party. They have taken you on a trip on so many social agendas and destroyed your party. Yet you let them do it to you. Why do you let them do it to you? Why don't you stand up for yourselves? They will leave you nowhere but nihilism. And Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor right from the start were going to be trouble.

People are saying now, 'Oh, well, if we go from Prime Minister Gillard.' I don't know where you will end up at 4.30—who would know? Who would know who will be the Prime Minister by tonight? Who would know how many more prime ministers this nation will have? But it is not going to be the Prime Minister that causes you the problem. It is the debt, Senator Conroy, that is going to cause you a problem—$268.8 billion in gross debt, and we are heading towards our next ceiling. Of course, Minister Conroy will talk about net debt, but he cannot explain it. He does not care—we are just going through credit limits: went through the $75 billion limit, went through the $200 billion limit, went through the quarter of a trillion dollar limit and are nudging up against the $300 billion. It is the most tawdry financial management that any nation has ever had—

Senator Wong interjecting—

and, Minister Wong, you were the finance minister for it. You caused it. You brought this upon yourself. You are hopeless, and you will be marked by the Australian people.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Joyce, you should address your comments to the chair.

Senator Wong interjecting—

Order, Senator Wong! Senator Joyce, you need to address your comments to the chair and I will ask you to be quiet until we have some silence in the chamber. You will get the call; you know how this place works.

Honourable senators interjecting—

When there is silence! Senator Joyce.

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, what we have heard today from the Labor Party has a very apt name. We hear them all the time; we hear them at solemn occasions. They are called eulogies. We have heard a number of eulogies because it is all over; it is all finished. It is goodbye to the government. It is goodbye to sanity. It will be hello chaos at 4.30.

And why did we do this? Where is Mr Paul Howes now? We better find out. We better go and find out what he wants to do. We better find out from him where he wants to take this nation. We better talk to the Greens about where this nation goes next. We better find out what would make Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor happy again. They were happy with chaos and they are obviously getting unhappy that we might fix it up.

What is the next lot of chaos going to be—the NBN? Was it the ceiling insulation, green loans, debt, deficit, carbon tax, mining tax or live cattle trade that brought this nation to its knees under this chaotic and hopeless government? Well, it was the fact that they tried to join together three pieces of an incredible puzzle. How on earth did the Labor Party allow themselves to get hooked up with the Independents, hooked up with the Greens and hooked up with this chaos? How on earth did they let themselves get to a position where they dispensed with their first Prime Minister? How on earth did we get to this position right now? This might be the last time that I ever speak in this chamber, but it is a disgrace and our nation deserves better than this. Our nation deserves so much better than this, and I hope that, whatever you do at 4.30 pm, you give some dignity back to this nation. (Time expired)

Honourable senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Wong, I am waiting to put the question. Order, Senator Joyce and Senator Wong! Order on both sides! The question is that the motion moved by Senator Abetz be agreed to.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.