Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

As Senator Abetz said, they actually campaigned against it. So we know the carbon tax was not the reason that the government fought so hard to form office and was not a piece of legislation that they desired to put through this place. But I think the answer you find when you look down the legislative program as to why the government fought so hard to get here—and the answer that those opposite would usually give, and Senator Conroy would give—would be the NBN legislation. That is perhaps the most significant reason for being for this government.

So the opposition were pretty surprised on Monday. We were here and we were ready to go on the NBN legislation. Senator Birmingham was champing at the bit to get into this legislation. He had been up all night preparing and had had little sleep. He was dreaming of the opportunity to get stuck into this piece of legislation. And guess what: there we had the iconic, emblematic piece of legislation for the Australian Labor Party, the NBN legislation, and they were not ready. The only thing you could point to as a reason for being for this government and they were not ready. That was on Monday.

That brings me to Tuesday, when, again, the opposition was ready to go. Senator Macdonald was primed and excited and champing at the bit. You could see Senator Macdonald bursting to get out of his seat to get stuck into the NBN debate. Senator Macdonald was ready but you will be amazed to know that again the government was not ready. No, they had amendments that they had to take to caucus.

So, we come to Wednesday. When Wednesday came around, Senator Fisher was beside herself with excitement ready to get into this debate—she still is—and guess what: Senator Conroy advised the opposition that he was not ready. And then around midday yesterday we found that five pages of amendments to this legislation had been lobbed into the parliament. Then, around 3 pm on Wednesday, 20 pages of amendments were lobbed into the parliament—making 25 pages of fresh amendments—and all of a sudden the bill becomes urgent. All of a sudden it has to pass through parliament straight away, at the earliest opportunity. It becomes, theoretically, what it always was: the most crucial piece of legislation in the government’s agenda. These 25 pages of amendments fundamentally change this legislation. The amendments are causing great concern to Telstra and to Optus. They fundamentally change the role of the ACCC. They are huge and material changes and they deserve appropriate scrutiny. They deserve to be studied carefully. This parliament and this Senate should do its job to scrutinise those 25 pages of amendments that were lobbed into the parliament only yesterday. The opposition is determined to perform that critical function.

The opposition has been ready, willing and able from Monday to deal with this legislation, and we still are. But we are in this situation today for two reasons. The first is that the government has proven time and again that they cannot manage their legislative agenda. The second reason that we are in this situation, and it is a reason that compounds the first, is that this government did not allocate enough sitting days. Even with the thin legislative agenda that they have, they cannot manage that within the sitting days that we have. We said at the outset of the parliament that the government should have scheduled more sitting days. Already we are finding ourselves in the situation where the government’s legislative agenda is out of control.

We know that the cry from those opposite, as it always is, will be that somehow this situation that we find ourselves in is the opposition’s fault—that the opposition has been delaying; that the opposition has been obstructing; and that the opposition is not undertaking scrutiny. That is always the cry from the other side to cover their incompetence and maladministration. But it is not true. We are a constructive and positive opposition. We liaise carefully and closely with all parties in the chamber to make sure that this Senate runs efficiently and well. That is what we do on this side of the chamber. But despite all the goodwill on this side and despite the constant communication, still this government cannot manage their legislative agenda. We will not cop for one second any suggestion that the situation we are in today is the fault of anyone other than those on the other side.

I do have a slight degree of sympathy for Senator Ludwig, because I think it is Senator Conroy who has put Senator Ludwig in this position—Senator Conroy’s absolute incompetence. NBN is shaping up as the biggest debacle of this parliament, and that is a big call. There were plenty in the last parliament—pink batts and school halls—but I think this parliament’s signature debacle will be the NBN. If Senator Conroy cannot manage this legislation, how on earth is he going to manage the policy and legislation if it actually gets passed?

We are not going to cop the blame for this situation. It stands fair and square with the government. We will be opposing this motion. There is no need at all for the parliament to be in this situation. But if, as looks likely, this motion does succeed with the support of others in the parliament, we are ready, willing and able to be here for as long as it takes to provide adequate scrutiny. We should not be in the situation of having this important legislation crammed into the last day. It should have been dealt with earlier. It is the government’s fault but we stand here ready, willing and able to apply the scrutiny. Senator Birmingham will be leading in that. We will be opposing this motion.