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

Thank you, Mr President, your ruling on this occasion is correct. However, the process that you allowed to be set in train led to national publicity, through the Australian newspaper, to the great detriment of my and Senator Milne's reputations. That is unforgivable. There has been a long history of concern about that and you ought to have been concerned about it, Mr President. However, you were not and you failed to properly protect senators from that process and the opposition took the opportunity. Senator Kroger says she did not, but it was not Santa Claus who told the Australian, Mr President, so if she is implying that your office did then that is a very serious matter indeed. Whatever it is, the opposition knows the truth here and they are not likely to admit to it, because that is not their standard of character.

Mr President, I have very broad shoulders and so does my colleague—

Senator Kroger interjecting—

The senator who interjects was notably absent from this debate, although she allowed herself to be engineered into being a key player in it. If she wanted to defend her actions she should have gotten to her feet, but there you go. That is how this is.

I reiterate, Mr President, that your decision was wrong and you can expect that it is our decision to take all measures possible, feasible and reasonable to defend ourselves from your failure to properly use the offices of your chair to protect our interests in the way you ought to have.