Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I apologise to Senator Lines. I put it down to my inadequate capacity to pronounce English words appropriately as a non-English speaking background senator in this chamber. But that intervention does not take away the fact that Senator Lines has put to the chamber that we have somehow tried to hide the fact that we are taking measures to ensure that the big end of town—as the Labor Party like to call it—passes through the benefit of the cost reductions that come with scrapping the carbon tax to consumers and to small business. For Senator Lines to come in here and criticise us for that, when the compliance burden on businesses across the whole economy that we are getting rid is worth $85.3 million a year, really is quite extraordinary.

Consistent with the approach of Senator Cameron, she took a full 15 minutes to repeat ad nauseam the same question over and over. What we have here is a Labor-Green filibuster—a filibuster from a Labor-Green opposition who clearly still cannot accept the verdict of the Australian people at the last election. Senator Lines, the reason I know what you are doing is that I have been there—I have been exactly where you are sitting now. I have run these sorts of debate out of opposition, and I know exactly what you are doing. I know that you are trying to run down the clock—and, clearly, you are keen to still be here on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, because we will stay here until this legislation is dealt with. We will stay here until the Australian Senate has finally accepted the will of the Australian people as expressed at the last election.

Senator Lines quoted certain talking points and it looked like they had been emailed to her by Mr Shorten's office. She was reading them from her IPhone. I was going to ask at some point whether Senator Lines could table the document that she was reading from but, given that it was an email that was sent to her either by Mr Shorten's office or her own electorate office, I guess that would be difficult. I would have liked to have seen the context within which those particular remarks were made. But, when it comes to claims in relation to Whyalla—and I see my good friend and valued colleague—