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

Yes, Senator Humphries, the present leader—that is me—was very willing to be involved in the debate but neither side wanted that in the run to the last election.

I think Senator Faulkner can take a lot of credit for moves to lower the donation disclosure threshold to political parties from the $11,500 as has come to us from the Howard era to $1,000 and truth in advertising to be instituted under changes to the Commonwealth Electoral Act. The Greens have been pursuing that very strongly. It is noted in the agreement that the Greens are predisposed to a system of full public funding for elections as in Canada. We will also be moving for a private member’s bill for above-the-line preferential voting in the Senate.

The other matters that are encompassed in the agreement involve the establishment of an information commissioner to help ensure that matters involving government are disclosed to the public. Importantly, Senator Siewert and I spoke with the honourable minister Jenny Macklin this morning about progress towards the referenda which we hope will be held, if not during this period of governance then at the next election, to recognise Indigenous Australians in the Constitution. I can assure everybody that there will be wide-ranging public consultation, not least with First Australians, in the move towards that referendum as well as a referendum on recognising local government. It is missing from the Constitution, and the Local Government Authority and the local governments across this country—500 or so of them—have been wanting that recognition. It is something I believe, if we get cross-party support, will be adopted by the people of Australia, given the opportunity at the next election.

We will also be exploring ways to ensure we get three-year terms of government. One of the things the Greens are committed to is stability in this period of government, whatever the opposition may throw at it. We will be moving to see what can be done under the constitutional arrangement, which is for three-year government—you need a referendum if you are going to four-year governments—and to ensure three-year terms of parliament are as far as possible guaranteed. The improvements to question time in the House taken from this Senate—and there is nothing like a successful change to standing orders in one place for strength in argument that it be adopted in another place—are now being taken up.

Also important is the consideration of private members’ legislation, which is something that I have been working hard on. We brought it before the Senate in the last three years but it got nowhere. The breakthrough with this new arrangement with the Gillard government is that now we will see a change of rules—and I hope the opposition will be amenable to this; I believe they will be—to get at least 2½ hours per week private members’ debate in each chamber.

I have flagged, amongst the many bills which I have moved to now be restored to the Notice Paper, the restoration of the democratic right of the parliaments in Darwin and in Canberra, the assemblies, to be able to legislate on the matter of euthanasia. I note, by the way, that there is an attack on me again in the Australian, from Paul Kelly, editor-at-large, on that matter today. When you get to the heart of it, he says this:

But what, exactly, are people supporting? The 1996-97 debate provides the answer …

He is referring to polls of 80 per cent showing support for euthanasia. He goes on:

… most people think that turning off life-support machines and discontinuing life-preserving treatment is euthanasia.

This is, again, the patronising attitude from the Australian that the Australian people cannot think for themselves, are not informed and do not know what it is that they are saying they want when they support euthanasia. It is time the Australian levelled a bit more and instead of dictating to the Australian people reflected a little more on the fact that people are intelligent enough to think for themselves. There will be much more in this debate. I am very excited about the coming three years. I commit to the debate being handled responsibly. I thank the chamber for listening so courteously.