Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Pursuant to the motion, I rise to take note of that response and make a few points. One is just to be very clear that the government spent some time today filibustering and running procedural games to avoid having a vote on the motion that they've just now had to have a vote on, and the reason the government conceded that vote is that it knew that a number of its senators were, to their credit, prepared to cross the floor to support a motion requiring the minister to attend. Recall that the order for production of documents that is the subject of this motion that was not complied with by Minister Seselja, was not complied with by the government, was a motion in fact supported by Senator Matt Canavan, so a government senator moving a motion against his own government or requiring his own government to provide the economic modelling that they have been talking about. So all of the shenanigans today were to avoid a vote that the government has just conceded. Just to be very clear what has occurred: Senator Canavan made clear he was prepared to cross the floor, as, I have to say, was the private indication from a number of other Liberal senators. This is a government utterly divided.

I want to make some comments. Senator McKenzie, how are you? I do want to make some brief comments, if I may, about the approach of the government to secrecy and the approach of the government to transparency and the approach of the government to accountability. The government want to keep this modelling secret, because they know that they have cost Australia billions of dollars by standing in the way of action on climate and renewables. And it's not the only secret, of course, that we know the Morrison-Joyce government is determined to keep from Australians. Recall that yesterday Mr Morrison got every one of his MPs to vote to protect Christian Porter and his secret donations, but he can't get his divided government to vote for net zero emissions by 2050. The fact is Mr Morrison never takes responsibility, he leaves it to others on vaccines, on hospitals, on quarantine, on bushfires, on climate and on renewables, and he's not even in the room when his government's policy on climate and renewables is being decided by Mr Joyce and the Nationals. But, when it comes to protecting Mr Porter, that's the job Mr Morrison puts his back into. If only Mr Morrison put the same effort into fighting for the Australian people as he puts into fighting for Mr Porter! If only he put as much effort into tackling climate change and ensuring we support renewables as he puts into protecting Mr Porter!

The whole reason for this government's existence over eight long years has been to stand in the way of action on climate and renewables. And, make no mistake about it, any deal that Mr Morrison comes up with now with Mr Joyce's support will be nothing but political spin to get Mr Morrison through Glasgow and to get him through the election. I say to the government: Australians are on to you. They've seen what Mr Morrison is like, and they know he isn't the real deal.