Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy President. I have not interjected on the coalition as they have spoken here this afternoon because censure motions are very serious motions. I want to put it very clearly on the record that I recognise that, as do the rules of this parliament. They make very clear that a minister is accountable to the Senate, that a censure motion can be moved in the Senate and, while the Senate has no power to remove a minister, the Senate does have the power to censure a minister because of their accountability to the Senate. It would seem to me that Senator Abetz and some others who have spoken here today seem to think that the Senate have no right to hold a minister to account. We do have the right to hold a senator to account, and we are moving to censure the minister, Senator Johnston, in this parliament.

I would like to go through the reasons why I have joined, on behalf the Australian Greens, in supporting a censure motion. First of all, the leader of the opposition in South Australia, Steven Marshall, has come out and said that the minister needs to apologise to the workers of the Australian Submarine Corporation and to the people of South Australia for his remarks. There has been overwhelming criticism—