Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Contrary to the fantasy just concocted by the member for Watson, there is a very simple explanation to this, and it is that these matters have been debated before. The reality is that the substance of these three bills—and the one which you were happy to debate and deal with straight away when it was reintroduced—were exactly the substance of the two bills that have been debated at length in this place before. So this is a manic—

Mr Burke interjecting—

The member for Watson is too smart by half. He knows as well as anybody, having been the manager of business in this place, that this is in fact a mechanism in terms of actually moving with this legislation that has or you been debated. Two bills before fully debated in this place are now the four bills. If there were any substance whatsoever to what the member for Watson has just said, why was he prepared to come in here when the first of these four bills was introduced and move to have the debate and finish that debate then? You were happy to do that then without any further debate on the matter, but for these three matters, you do not. This is sheer hypocrisy. I move:

That the question be put.

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