Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to rise tonight to talk on the Fair Work Amendment Bill 2012, because it really shows this government up for what it is: a tricky and untrustworthy government. The first point of proof on this fact is the way the government has rushed this bill into this place. It has not given the opposition or the Independent members any time to carefully examine and look at the detail—because it does not want the detail looked at when it comes to this bill, even though the minister has had the time to look at the detail, to examine it. He has obviously had the report sitting on his desk for a long time. Then, bang—just whip the legislation in and try to get it off the table so we do not get the scrutiny of what the government is up to in presenting this bill.

If anything belled the cat in this regard, it was what happened today in this chamber with the member for Throsby. The member for Throsby was rushed in to speak on this bill. So hurried was he that he grabbed the wrong talking points, and he spoke on a different bill for his whole time, even though members from this side were interjecting and saying, 'You're talking about the wrong bill!' There are embarrassing things you can do in this chamber. I am sure all of us at some stage will do some embarrassing things, and we will say, 'I wish I hadn't gone down that path.' You would think that if you spoke for five minutes on a different bill and the opposition was telling you that you were talking about the wrong bill you would say: 'Hell, what am I going to do here? I'd better change direction.' But no, the member for Throsby went for 15 minutes, the whole way. It is as though he drove down a wrong-way road, in the wrong direction, for 15 minutes, with people saying to him, 'Turn around; you're going the wrong way.'

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