Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Of course, I add my remarks in support of what Senator Faulkner said at the very end of his speech. And I am sure that other senators will join me in acknowledging the great work that the Clerk and the Clerk's office do for this Senate and for this parliament as a whole.

Senator Cameron started his contribution by talking a little bit about 'catatonic'. For those who missed the word, 'catatonic' was first described in 1874, if I remember correctly. He used the word 'catatonic', which is a state of neurogenic motor immobility and behavioural abnormality manifested by stupor to describe the actions of some people in this place. I prefer to use the psychological expression 'state of denial'.

'State of denial' was first used by Sigmund Freud and it describes someone or something—or some people, I am sure—who refuses to accept the truth. It is a phrase used to describe a person who is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it, instead insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence.

So let us just cast our minds back to post September last year—