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

There is no point of order. I can see that Senator Abetz has gone Dickensian and I suppose that suits him. I am making a very logical and reasonable point here on behalf of the voters of Australia and the importance of the parliament and, not least, the importance of the sittings of the Senate. There is large-scale absenteeism of frontbenchers of both sides showing up here. This sitting is not sudden; we have all known about it for quite some time. The voters of Australia deserve to have a better explanation.

Of course, if there is a family illness or a major occasion which requires a senator to be absent, or a ministerial requirement which is beyond that of the requirement for a senator to be present in the chamber, or if there is a parliamentary duty which is more important than the sitting of the Senate, then let us hear what it is.

Of course Senator Abetz would call this a stunt, but I am serious about it and I think the Senate is owed a better explanation than a one-word adjective to say why a senator is away. It is a legion of absenteeism on the last day of the sitting of the Senate and the big parties should do better than that.