Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy President. It is the excitement that got me!

There was a lot of speculation of what was going to happen during today's big announcement. And, boy, didn't Senator Bernardi milk the media frenzy for everything it was worth. But, of course, Senator Bernardi disappointed the expectant nation when he declared, 'I won't be changing.' What a letdown that was. What a steaming pile of garbage this political party-cum-vanity project is really going to be. It is little more than the watered-down, hyper-American rubbish imported from overseas that was already old when Pauline Hanson, the leader of One Nation, started it years ago.

It is pretty clear what has happened here. The Liberal Party made a serious mistake when they packed up little Cory's lunchbox and sent Senator Bernardi off to the US in the middle of the hyper-Trump election just a few months ago. He has come back with some refried right-wing crap; he has drunk the Trump cordial. And he is desperate to paint himself as the poor man's Trump. How pathetic! At least if you are going to try and build a career in a new political party out of demonising the most vulnerable in our community and tricking the hard done-by into thinking you actually give a damn and you will represent them, be original about it. Don't just try to mimic an old orange blowhard from America. Even his red cap isn't new; it is borrowed.

Let's be honest: this is all about Senator Bernardi; it is not about Australia; it is not even about this place; it is not even about the Liberal Party. This is all about Senator Bernardi. His brave new political movement is nothing more than self-interested opportunism from the very definition of a political insider. He has sorely underestimated the good people of South Australia. I think he will be in for a nasty surprise. South Australians do not want another homophobic bigot. They do not want another climate sceptic. He is going to cop it hard when he tries to ask for their support at the ballot box. South Australians want people who are willing to stand up for vulnerable, stand up for the environment, stand up for our diverse and emerging economies, stand up for renewal energy—(Time expired)