Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Northern Australia) | Hansard source

Point of order, Chair. I wanted to let Senator McKim finish his diatribe before I got up to point out that, in fact, it was not Labor that proposed amendment (1).

The TEMPORARY CHAIR: Senator Watt, you have the call. This is not a point of order. You're making a contribution to the debate.

Okay, I'll do that later.

The TEMPORARY CHAIR: Would you like the call?

Yes, I would. Thank you, Chair. Unfortunately Senator McKim and his colleagues in the Greens never like to let the truth get in the way of a good political wedge against Labor. I would like to point out that, in fact, it was not Labor that proposed amendment (1), which I understand is the one that he is most exercised about. So I'm sorry to disappoint you, Senator McKim. You might have to find another reason to try and wedge Labor rather than focus on a government that is pillaging the environment that you say you care about. But keep coming after us; that's fine.

We did, however, propose amendments (2) to (5), which go to issues of press freedom. The Greens say they care about press freedom, but it was Labor that moved these amendments. Labor did not propose amendment (1) but will support it, it having been proposed, because it simply fixes a small anomaly in the bill, which currently includes a range of facilities as primary production facilities, including agriculture businesses, fish processing facilities and abattoirs. Sorry to disappoint you: we didn't propose the amendment. Your conspiracy—