Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, and also on behalf of Senator Wong, move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes with concern reports of threats of violence towards health workers, health officials, premiers and elected officials in response to measures that have protected the lives and livelihoods of Australians throughout the COVID-19 pandemic;

(b) calls on all Australians to undertake protests peacefully, respectfully and not engage in conduct that threatens peaceful activity across our country;

(c) notes that extremism in all forms tears apart the social fabric of Australia, in particular across our multicultural communities;

(d) condemns without reservation or qualification all threats, acts and incitement of violence, including any expressed at recent protests and online;

(e) further condemns individuals and extremist groups which seek to promote or incite violence, disinformation, neo-Nazism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, fascism, communism, anarchism, racism and bigotry in our community;

(f) calls on all in public office to set an example by refraining from incitement of violence or threats of violence and the dissemination of disinformation;

(g) thanks all Australians who have accepted the health advice and worked together through the COVID-19 pandemic to keep each other safe, particularly the more than 19 million Australians who have already had at least one dose of a vaccination.

Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Slade Brockman (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We support this motion, but it's interesting that you had to seek leave to move it, because the effect of your temporary order, which you'll soon be seeking to make permanent, would be to stop motions like this from even being debated on the floor of this chamber. Now, under your temporary order, which no doubt you'll deny me leave to speak on later, you would stop the Senate from moving motions about forming an opinion on something, you would stop concurrence motions and you would even stop censure motions.

People want us to be accountable on the issues that matter to them. They want us to come to Canberra and be clear about what we stand for. Speeches and debates are well and good, but, until you actually vote on something, nobody knows what you stand for. Motions have achieved so much in the past. We got the banking royal commission, the disability royal commission and the veterans royal commission through motions. We made progress on an ICAC because of motions. But you guys don't want to held accountable for what your positions are, and that's why, once again, you're ganging up to silence the rest of us. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.