Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have been in classrooms for 20 years, and I know the importance of the debate that should be had around this piece of legislation and the amendments that we hear are in the wind and that apparently are going to land here at some point in time. The level of scrutiny that they need to have cannot be enabled by having an hours motion to help us debate them through the night. They need far more scrutiny. Senator Brandis, you actually said that it has taken half a century to get to this point. You think that that is a good achievement. If it is that significant, if it has taken 50 years to get to this point, we should not be deciding it in one night. We should not be deciding it with senators sleeping on their benches, coming in here and getting half the information.

If we go to the reality of the way in which this government has dealt with every sector that is impacted—the government sector, the independent sector and the Catholic sector—we know why they want to get out of here in a hurry, and why the members of the crossbench should not facilitate it. This should not be facilitated, because there does need to be proper scrutiny. The department itself, who has actually told us the truth when the minister has not provided the evidence, has said that this does not have to come in to be resolved until the spring sitting.

As a teacher, for all the teachers and all the parents who have contacted me and your offices, you should reject this. It is so important for all the children of this country that we give this bill proper and fair scrutiny, not through the middle of the night. This is a dirty arrangement that is not necessary. This does not need to happen until September, and it is only happening because the government think they can corral the group of people in this room and make a decision and that is a better chance of getting a deal with you right now than if they have to go out and actually speak to the stakeholders that they have so offended in the process of coming to this moment.