Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Hansard source

In commencing my contribution to the Maritime Legislation Amendment Bill, I indicate that I reject and am offended by the suggestion by the senator at the table, the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, that this is a filibuster. I remind the minister that I have been here a long time through previous Labor and Liberal governments. This last four years has been the most restrictive period of speeches and contributions to debate that I have seen in the long time I have been in this parliament. All this week we have had bills guillotined, with the Greens joining the Labor Party to cut off speeches. Mr Acting Deputy President, you are aware that government documents, all those literally thousands of documents which are promulgated by government and government agencies each day and by necessity brought into this chamber so that they can be scrutinised, have been removed from—