Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

If you find a way of doing that we would be happy to look at it. What I can tell you, Senator Birmingham, through the Chair, is that your report on this committee’s inquiry has come up with no alternatives, no suggestions, nothing constructive whatsoever. I would have thought you could have done better than that, as you have been out publicly condemning the government’s use of $38 million in campaign funds on the mining boom tax. I would have thought you could have come up with just something constructive. But the opposition has failed in that test, and that is why the Greens have a bill before the parliament—because we intend to remain constructive opponents when we oppose government or, for that matter, government legislation. The rule is: if you oppose something, come up with something better. We are past that. The opposition has failed miserably in its contribution to this committee’s report.