Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The reason there has been a delay in that bill coming across here is not because of any action by this side; it is entirely because of the actions of those on the other side. Anyone watching the Australian House of Representatives today would have seen that—the Australian Labor Party seeking to deny the House of Representatives the opportunity to have the third reading of the Registration of Deaths Abroad Amendment Bill.

I will take Senator Wong's earlier interjection. She is proving what I said before that Labor speak out of both sides of their mouths. They seek to delay and frustrate in the House of Representatives, and then, out of the other side of their mouths, they come into this place and they say to the press gallery, 'Gee, the reason why the Senate isn't dealing with that piece of legislation is because of the government,' when it was the opposition itself that sought to deny the House of Representatives the opportunity to deal with that bill.

Senator Wong interjecting—

Mr Acting Deputy President Ketter, you can hear it yourself at the table—Senator Wong doing the old speak out of both sides of the mouth routine. Over on the House side, Labor seek to frustrate and delay and then, when the outworking of what they have done is a delay to the Senate considering something, they say, 'Oh, it's nothing to do with us'—it is entirely the Australian Labor Party.

The press gallery have seen through Labor's tactics today. The Australian people will see through the tactics of the Australian Labor Party as they display them day after day in the other place and as they display them day after day in this place. If any of us thought for a second that the Australian Labor Party wanted to turn over a new leaf this term, I make it clear, Mr President, that they will not. They will refuse to adopt a stance of cooperation. The Australian Labor Party cannot rise beyond petty, undergraduate student politics. They could not in the last term; they will not in this term. It does not matter how much Bill Shorten pays service to the language of cooperation, they will not fulfil that.