Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

It was worse than self-indulgent, Senator O'Neill; it was the ideological agenda and the arrogance that you see occur when parties like the coalition have control in the Senate. Others here like to refer to issues of 'choice' and 'democratic principles' and the like, but the point that I made in my contribution earlier is that I believe that Australians actually value the Senate as a brake on executive government. I think that Australians appreciate having a Senate composition, different in nature to that of the House, that allows the Senate to act as a brake on government.