Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That on Tuesday, 2 December 2014:

(a) the hours of meeting shall be 12.30 pm to 10.40 pm;

(b) the routine of business from not later than 7.20 pm shall be government business only; and

(c) the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall be proposed at 10 pm.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for five minutes.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to place on record the chaotic management of this chamber by the Abbott government. The opposition well, in a constructive approach, agree to this extension of hours, but I want to make the point that we have seen incompetence and chaos from the government in its management of its legislative program through the Senate since they came to government and it is worsening for all to see in this last week. In fact, Senator Faulkner made the point that this is probably the worse performance by a government since Federation when it comes to managing the legislative program in the Senate. It really has come to a head in the last 24 hours when the government has been unable to identify its legislative priorities for the Senate's remaining few sitting days this year.

Nine days ago I wrote to Senator Abetz seeking confirmation of the government's priorities and their plans for the sitting days for the remainder of 2014. There was no reply. Then, with three sitting days left, the government suddenly sprang into action and we had no less than three meetings in Senator Abetz's office but it was not action; it was more like a shemozzle. We had three meetings, and we had the government leader unable to advise the opposition and the crossbench of the government's priorities in terms of legislation. We had three different versions of the list of priority bills put in front of us, which kept changing.

We have a government that cannot even identify its own priorities and cannot work with the other parties in this chamber, and then it seeks to blame the other members of the Senate for its own incompetence. We have a government that seems to take the view that coming into the Senate at the last minute seeking to up-end the arrangement of business is the way forward. Of course, senators know that the chaos that we are seeing in these last few days is not an aberration; it is a standard operating procedure in the Senate under the Abbott government. We have seen countless suspensions of standing orders, rearrangements of business and declarations of urgency brought on in this chamber without notice by the manager—

Senator Bushby interjecting—

They are interjecting because they do not like it when this is pointed out to them. If they want to talk about notice, how often do they come in without notice, once they have a deal, and up-end the chamber? As recently as yesterday afternoon, we had the government saying, 'We don't want to debate the higher education bill' and told us that they wanted to do something completely different. And now they want to debate the higher education bill. They are chopping and changing depending on where the negotiations are. We have also seen a government that has squandered hours of time on political point-scoring rather than progressing its own bills. There have been a number of occasions when the government could have been dealing with its own legislation but it chose instead to chew up hours of time playing politics. Who can forget the filibuster on its own legislation, and who can forget Senator Macdonald speaking against the government's own budget measures?

We also had the government complaining about aspects of the budget which have not been passed but which have not yet been introduced the legislation into the parliament—such as the GP tax and paid parental leave. None of those have been introduced into the parliament. So when people hear this government complaining about the Senate obstructing its agenda let us remember that, firstly, around 140 bills have been passed by this chamber since the change of government; secondly, even the Treasurer, Joe Hockey, says that most of the budget has been passed; and thirdly, this government is refusing even to bring into parliament some of its controversial measures. And we have seen in this last fortnight two ministers in this chamber censured by the Senate—the first time in a decade that that has occurred. We have seen an Assistant Treasurer sent on fishing leave for over eight months with no replacement appointed and the Minister for Finance still the acting Assistant Treasurer, and we have seen the Minister for Defence agree that his own statements were amongst the stupidest ever made by a senior minister.

The fact is that the government has shown a complete incapacity to manage the chamber. The opposition, in the interests of being constructive, will support this extension of hours today. We will also—and I place this on the record—give up our debating time and not proceed with the matter of public importance if the government will proceed with finalising the debate on the higher education bill. If the government cannot manage its program, then I guess the opposition and the crossbenchers will have to help them out. That is what we are doing by giving up this time. I invite people, when they hear Senator Abetz complaining about the crossbenchers, to have a look at Senator Leyonhjelm's comments today. I think they were most instructive.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a five-minute statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for five minutes.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I must contend with one statement by Senator Wong and take her to task for it, and that is the inference that Senator Faulkner has been in this place since Federation. I think that is an adverse reflection on Senator Faulkner. I know he has been here for quite a while, but he has not been here quite that long. I must also say—this might surprise you—that I very much prefer the Senator Wong of today to the Senator Wong of last night. Last night, Senator Wong was the author of an ambush in this place. As I mentioned last night, when that occurred there was a leaders, managers and whips meeting taking place. I thought it was poor form and I expressed that strongly. I did think it was poor form to use that meeting as a cover. I also thought it was poor form that the agreement in relation to the rearrangement that we had had reached with Labor and the Greens did not come to pass. I think it is important that we be able to rely on each other's word in this place. I also find it a little odd that Senator Wong is complaining that there were three meetings in relation to Senate business. Sometimes you just cannot win: either there is not enough consultation and then there is too much consultation. I would have thought it was a good thing that we have those meetings, to seek to work cooperatively to determine those things that we can agree upon and the processes that we might follow in this place.

Senator Wong also makes reference to the supposed failure to manage this place properly. Can I say that it is pretty darn hard on occasion when you have a stunt like that of Senator Conroy yesterday, where he seeks to break an agreement, which had been reached between the government and the opposition, to bring on certain relatively non-contentious bills. I might say that Senator Carr was actually urging me earlier in the week to bring on some of those non-contentious bills. I was just trying to give effect to the will of Senator Carr—

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is right, and didn't you make a mess of it!

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order on my left!

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

but that will not happen again.

Senator Conroy thwarted Senator Carr's best endeavours by bringing the omnibus repeal bill and the stunt of moving amendments, which were completely unrelated to the bill. What happened last night was completely beyond the control of the government. I think that comes to the main point which is that—

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You broke your word.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We did not break our word.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Twelve submarines in Adelaide—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It brings me to the point that clearly the government does not have the numbers in this place in its own right, which means that chamber management is a shared responsibility of the whole Senate. The government cannot unilaterally dictate the course of events in this place. Clearly, it is a shared responsibility and I think that is an important point for people to take note of.

Obviously, it is not always elegant in this place. That is partly a function of the fact—

Senator Payne interjecting—

Senator Cash interjecting—

Thank you—as are you, Senator Payne and Senator Cash and Senator McKenzie. It is a shared responsibility. Legislating is not a particularly elegant process. Those opposite did not help that any last night.

As I said at the start of my remarks, I very much prefer the Senator Wong of today to the Senator Wong of last night. But Senator Wong does need to work out what her line is in relation to this place. She started by saying that the management of this place is chaotic and that the government has wasted time. But then she was saying it is fantastic that 140 bills have passed through this place. Either it is kind of working, or it is not. Senator Wong just needs to refine her lines in relation to the management of this place a little more.

I acknowledge that the opposition are giving up their MPI time today. I thank them for that. It is an example of the cooperation and the way that this place can and should work, which we were endeavouring to pursue last night at 7.30, when we had Senator Conroy's special stunt sprung on this place. I might leave it at that and just say to colleagues that I appreciate them supporting the Senate sitting later tonight—as I expect will be the case.

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

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for two minutes.

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

Thank you. I only need a couple of minutes. I rise to say that there has been a great deal of mismanagement and time-wasting that has gone on. The Greens made our position clear; we ought not to be sitting for additional hours, but I accept that the will of the chamber is that we do so. I want to say I am disappointed that the proposal that we put, to have a half-hour dinner break, has not been agreed to, by either the government or the Labor opposition. It does affect Senate staff, and it particularly affects parties and Independents in here who do not have the additional back-up that perhaps the Liberal and Labor parties do. It would have been appropriate—if we were extending the sitting time until 10—for that to happen, and I am disappointed it has not happened.

In terms of the management of the chamber, I think there has been quite a learning curve for the government this year; if you want people to cooperate with you, then you have to treat people with respect and negotiate with them in a respectful manner, not come in here and abuse people and then expect people to sit down and be reasonable. As I said right from the beginning: the born-to-rule mentality that has gone on in this chamber, and the crash and crash through has meant chaotic management of the chamber as the government tries to cobble together the numbers and then get whatever they need through. Everybody is left in a state of confusion as to what is going to go on.

The Greens will cooperate with this but I have to say we will not be sitting on Thursday night or on Friday. We are not going to extend the time. We will sit this evening. But I reiterate that it would have been appropriate to have allowed people at least a half-hour break in the evening.

Question agreed to.