Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, across a number of elections—and probably hundreds of thousands of other people who have campaigned and put in endless hours to get my party to where it is today. It is not an easy thing. It is not meant to be an easy thing. In a democracy, it takes time for people to understand who you are and what you represent. We are still continuing to try and let Australians know who we are, what we represent and why they should vote for us, just like any political party is. To say that it is democratic for someone to get elected because they put their name on a group voting ticket or they put their name on a microparty and they have been part of a backroom deal that gets them elected to the Senate does not represent the will of the voters. We have heard so much evidence about voters not knowing where their preferences are going and being horrified when they have found out—if they ever find out, because the system is so complex. That is not democracy.

I would like to see more diversity in the Senate. I would like to see more Independents trying to get into the Senate. That is good for democracy. Senator Brown, whom I replaced, has always welcomed new participants, always in elections, because of the good that does to democracy. But the system has to be fair.

I do not think it is out of school of me to say you have to work hard to get your message across, so people can understand what you are and who you represent, and vote for you. That is what we are talking about here today. We are talking about a reform that has been debated and looked at countless times over a long period of time. This is not a new issue. The actual legislation that we will be looking at, hopefully later today, has been looked at countless times by countless committees. We all have that information in front of us.

I think the real issue is that the Labor Party do not want an early election and some of their stakeholders in the union movement—and we have all spoken to them—do not want an early election either. This is not an issue about timing; this is an issue about getting good reform through. The Greens have made it very clear that we will not do anything to support an early election or a double dissolution. In fact, we have said that the Prime Minister would be a coward if he called a double dissolution. He has a job to do and I do not think he has done a very good job at all letting Australians know what he stands for and what his vision is for this country. He has a lot of work to do to do that and I think it would be very risky for him to call a double dissolution. Nevertheless, we will be ready for it if he does go down that road. But I do not think the Labor Party are ready for it, and I think that is what this is about.

This is about delaying an election for their own political survival. My message to the Labor Party is: stop undermining progressive politics in this country and stop attacking the Greens. Your bucket of mud—

Senator Polley interjecting—

Throw your pocket of mud at the people on the other side of the chamber, Senator Polley. What you and your stakeholders are in fact doing is undermining progressive politics in this country. I am sure the Prime Minister and Mr Christopher Pyne and others are laughing in their soup at what is going on in the Senate at the moment, seeing you attacking the Greens. That is exactly what they want and you are giving them exactly what they want.