Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

That is it. Thank you, Senator Cash. I was surprised too, when I had a close look. There are 10 out of 226, and the way things are going at the moment the Greens are running the country. I know they are probably very happy every time we say that, but let me tell you that the Australian people out there are not. I am happy to place on record that Senator Bob Brown got 1½ million votes; 1½ million voted for him—11 million did not. It is quite extraordinary that we have this situation with a carbon tax coming in as a result of the Labor-Greens government when the Greens have 10 out of 226 members of parliament and 1.5 million votes out of 12½ million. It does not sound like a really good case for democracy to me. It does not really sound like the majority of the Australian people having their say. It does not really sound like what the Australian people want is actually happening. I do not think it really sounds like that at all.

There is something really interesting, and perhaps one of the Labor senators can indicate about it in one of the times that they get to make remarks—and I am sure before Sunday there will be masses of briefings on the carbon tax to all the backbencher. Tell me, Senator Furner, do you think the Greens are going to get their briefing before the Labor backbench does? I would be very interested to know that before the end of this debate. Wouldn't it be interesting, Senator Adams, if in fact the Prime Minister were planning on briefing the Greens before she briefed her own backbench?