Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Leave not granted.

Pursuant to contingent notice of motion standing in the name of the Leader of the Opposition, I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent me from making that statement.

This is really quite extraordinary. After the debacle that we've seen in this place over the last two weeks, at the very last minute the government manages to get the support of the Greens to come in here and guillotine the remaining bills that are on the Notice Paper. This is after us spending six days on a bill that was largely uncontroversial for the two major parties of government. But, despite every attempt by the opposition to work with the government to try and end up with a deal that would enable the passage of that bill so that we could have gone on to other legislation that was more controversial and needed debate—no. Instead, the belligerence of those opposite meant that that piece of legislation remained sitting on the Notice Paper and was debated for six whole days.

The thing that I fail to understand is why the Greens would have agreed to this guillotine in the middle of a bill. Senator Jordon Steele-John has come into this place day after day after day to support the rights of people in Australia who live with disability—on a bill that was so important to him that he moved up to 20 amendments—but the Greens were quite happy to stop Senator Steele-John making his contribution on a bill that was so important to him. They wanted to do this dirty deal because they wanted to get out of here early. I cannot believe that you would sacrifice your principles and something that was so important to one of your own—not only one of your own who thinks that disability support is important but one of your own who lives with a disability and would probably know better than anybody the importance of the impact of the changes that are being put forward by the government with the Disability and Inclusion Bill 2023 and the amendments that he sought to move.

Honourable senators interjecting—

You can sit there and yell all you like. But I've got to tell you your lack of consistency, commitment and conviction when it comes to the issues you so-called stand up for is an absolute disgrace and shows what an unbelievably shallow group of people the Greens actually are.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point of order: It is disorderly in the extreme for Senator Ruston, firstly, to reflect on Senator Steele-John in the way that she did and, secondly, to reflect more broadly on a group of senators in this chamber in the way that she did. I ask that she withdraw both of those disorderly statements.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senators, do I need to remind everybody that calling out across the chamber is disorderly—from all sides of the chamber. Please have respect for senators on their feet and remain silent.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the point of order: I would contend that my absolute overt—

Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry, Senator Ruston, you did withdraw your comments.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, I didn't. On the point of order: I was seeking to give clarification for you that I don't believe that my absolute, overt support for Senator Steele-John, and his intent in coming into the chamber, is something that needs to be withdrawn. If Senator McKim would like me to withdraw a reflection I made around the shallowness of the Greens, I'm more than happy to do that, but I don't believe that there is any need for me to withdraw a comment that was not adverse.

Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for clarifying your point, Senator Ruston. I think we will take into account your spirit and the intention of that comment. Thank you for withdrawing your comment in relation to the second point Senator McKim made. Please continue with your remarks.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The cold, hard reality is that this motion is just another attempt, firstly, to avoid scrutiny. There are some particularly important bills here. There are a couple of social security bills that have not even had anybody make one comment on them at all. There's also the very important live animal exports bill, which clearly sees a huge amount of dissent around the chamber, but we're all happy to guillotine that as well.

I would say: do not come into this place in the last two sitting weeks and ask us if you can have the last week off, because, if you do, the only thing you will be admitting to is that the Labor Party, in coalition with the Greens, would rather go home for an early Christmas than do their job, stand in this place and actually debate the legislation that is before the Senate because of their absolute incompetence in getting their legislative agenda through this year. We saw the debacle of last week. We've seen so many weeks when we've turned up in this place and gotten nothing done because you are not able to negotiate the legislative agenda in the place. You can't manage the chamber. And then, at the final hour, you come in here and do a dirty deal with those at the other end of the chamber to guillotine legislation. I would say the people of Australia are starting to see through the Labor Party. The Labor Party don't want scrutiny, they lack transparency and they'd rather go for Christmas pudding and turkey roast than stay here and do the job that the Australian public elected them to do.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Here we are—it's Friday afternoon, and the Labor Party and the Greens have got their tickets booked home. They've got the champagne waiting for them in the chairman's lounge, because they want a long lunch. They do not want to stay here in this chamber and debate critical legislation. They call a big game—they're all about transparency, these two political parties—but they cannot resist cooking up a deal in the last couple of hours to make sure critical legislation receives no oversight and no debate from the senators from Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales, who've all been sent to this place to put that perspective on the public record and not assume that everybody agrees. The Prime Minister can't be bothered to rock up to question time or the House of Reps. He cancels sitting weeks like no-one's business because he doesn't want to be up-front about why his referendum failed and why 60 per cent of Australians don't agree with him. He now wants to silence the Senate from doing our constitutional duty, which is to debate bills, ask questions of ministers on behalf of the Australian public and then vote. What this government has done since coming to power is to reduce sitting hours, reduce scrutiny and reduce oversight from the people's representatives. These guys love a guillotine more than the French loved a guillotine.

Today, you are seeing critical bills such as the live animal export bill guillotined, despite the Greens having an army of amendments to that piece of legislation and despite the crossbench wanting to have a conversation. Do you know why? It's because, every time we get up and talk about this government's desire to prohibit live animal exports for sheep and its devastating impact on sheep prices and farming communities around this country, Minister Watt goes to water. He won't leave Perth, and he doesn't want to hear about the negative impact of his policies on our communities. Well, guess what? That's what the Australian parliament is supposed to be about. We're supposed to come here with a diversity of perspectives, sit down, listen to them and then vote appropriately. This Labor government had a debacle last week, when the crossbench got more legislation through than the government did. Senators Pocock and Lambie got through four bills for critical industrial relations legislation. What did the government get through last week? Two bills. They then had to do the deal with the Greens today, and we end up with five or six bills rammed through with no debate and no questioning. It just shows you how cynical the Labor Party is about transparency and accountability. You're all talk, but when it comes to actually living by what you promised the Australian people—

Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator McKenzie. It being 1.30, the debate is interrupted, and we will move to two-minute statements.