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

He did not have Senator Feeney to support him on that side. He did not have Senator Arbib to support him. He did not have Senator Carr to support him—not that Senator Carr's support would be worth much; he could not even look after himself. You do see how the Labor Party is so factionalised. But there is this other faction, this quite shadowy faction, that Senator Sinodinos mentioned today and I draw senators' attention to that very good speech in case they missed it. You almost have that ultra left wing of the Labor Party masquerading as the Greens, which is in effect a de facto communist party in Australia. The Greens are not here to keep Senator Feeney on track and are not here to keep Senator Arbib up to the mark because they are part of that same left-wing, ultimately socialist government—a government that believes Big Brother is better able to direct me on how I should conduct my life than I am, that believes Big Brother is better able to spend my money than I am and that believes Big Brother should take my money and help the disadvantaged rather than allow me to help the disadvantaged as I and most Australians do with our own money. That is the shame of this. The Greens, who should be in here demanding that the parliament have supremacy over the executive government, disappear. I think, I hope and I trust that the Australian public are rapidly understanding that the Greens are no more than a hypocritical wing of the Labor Party and therefore part of the current government.

Question agreed to.