Mark Bishop (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Unlike some of my colleagues, I do from time to time pay attention to some of the commentary offered by those of us opposite. Sometimes, in my more charitable moments, I think to myself that they might communicate a worthwhile idea to members of the government, we could give it proper consideration and perhaps, in some areas of endeavour, we could go forward together. So today I listened closely to the contributions of Senator Cormann and Senator Eggleston. It must be said right at the outset that their contributions were characterised by the three Rs, not the traditional three Rs but the three Rs of recidivism, revisionism and resistance. Not one new idea was put forward by either speaker, not one different contribution was put forward. Senator Cormann started off by manifestly telling an untruth. He said that when the carbon tax legislation was passed in this chamber, members of the government and members of the Greens engaged in an embrace of hubris, of showing off, of kissing and hugging and congratulating each other on the—