Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Tourism) | Hansard source

I note that in Senator Patrick's contribution he was again critical of the Labor Party. In my contribution I would like to put forward exactly what the Labor Party's position is, and not a position that is put forward by Senator Patrick to fit his own view. Last week Senator Gallagher gave a comprehensive explanation of why Labor is not supporting this referral. Nothing has changed since then for us. What has changed is that Senator Patrick voted against a motion that would have ensured that the Morrison government explained why it ignored reported warnings from the security agency in relation to Ms Liu and her links to the Chinese Communist Party. Senator Lambie, the Greens and One Nation all voted in favour of this scrutiny. Senator Patrick, on the other hand, joined forces with Senator Bernardi to shield the government. This is despite his Centre Alliance colleague, the member for Mayo, supporting Labor's efforts for appropriate scrutiny in the House of Representatives. This has been a major dent in Senator Patrick's credibility on matters relating to China, and has created the impression that he's more interested in political hits on Labor than the national interest. It is clear that there is a strong interest in the management of Australia's relationship with China.