Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

What a shambles this chamber has become under the Morrison-Joyce government's management. For the past two weeks we have been hearing threat after threat from Senator Rennick and Senator Antic to withhold their vote from the government unless they got their way. Let's be clear: this is not in the tradition of the Liberal and National parties saying, 'We can cross the floor on an issue if we want to.' This was an absolute threat to withhold the vote on everything in order to hold the government to ransom. This goes against the individual-conscience approach that the Liberals and Nationals like to crow about. It was an absolute strike. They went on strike. They threatened it and they threatened it, which is how we got to the shambles of last night. There we had the empty threats laid bare, after Senator Rennick told the media he was not for turning. He told his constituents in Queensland that he was absolute. He told this chamber and he told everyone on Facebook—and we know about Senator Rennick's Facebook, don't we?

But that's not the subject of the speech. The subject of the speech is that Senator Rennick has been telling everyone up hill and down dale that he is not for turning; he will not back the government unless the government overturns vaccine mandates—unless Scott Morrison personally stands up and opposes vaccine mandates. What did we see last night? We saw a somewhat ashen faced, embarrassed, dishevelled and dissembling Senator Rennick stand up, unable to even articulate why he hadn't voted, what his position was and whether he was trying to recommit a vote or not. It was an absolute omnishambles from a government that is splintering in the Senate before our very eyes.

We saw it on Monday, with five government senators crossing the floor to vote against their own government. We saw it again last night, with Senator Rennick going to water, crumbling before our very eyes, showing he does not have the courage of his convictions, just seeking to recommit a vote. Then we have the same thing with Senator Antic. Senator Antic has been telling everyone: 'I'm not with the government; I'm not with the government. I'm standing firm on vaccine mandates. I'm not for turning. I'm not going to back down—until I do.' There he was, Chamberlain with his paper—Chamberlain with his email, really—capitulating to the Liberal and National whips. There they were, signing away their individual right to cross the floor by committing themselves to pair with the government on all non-legislative votes. Give me a break! Either these senators have the courage of their convictions or these senators do not.

What are we seeing here today? Now it's getting a little more conditional. With all the conditions they're putting on their supposed protest against their own government, now Senator Rennick and Senator Antic are going to vote with the government on all nine legislative matters. Come on! Meanwhile, we have a government that is unwilling to bring on a vote on a legislative matter. How many speakers from the government side did this chamber hear speak yesterday on pieces of national security legislation that clearly had the support of the chamber? It could have been brought on, dealt with and moved on—critical infrastructure; high-risk terrorist offenders. Come on! They talked these out because they didn't know where their own senators would line up when it came to the legislative vote.

I'll make a prediction to the chamber. We're going to have another day of talking out legislation that is not controversial, legislation that could pass this chamber today. Why? Because this government doesn't have the courage to bring on a national anticorruption commission bill. They promised it over a thousand days ago; they're not bringing it on. This government does not have the courage to bring on its religious discrimination bill. The Prime Minister is going to make a big song and dance in the other place when personally introducing it, but he can't even guarantee that his own team backs it. This is a government that is dissembling before our very eyes. This goes to the debate we are having here today.

I thank those senators who have participated and those who may well participate. The fact that we have now been provided with the two emails from Senators Antic and Rennick saying they're backing down, dissembling and calling off their general strike against their own government just goes to show why we need clarity about pairing arrangements. How can this chamber vote in good conscience without knowing the pairing arrangements? How can the crossbench participate in these votes without knowing the pairing arrangements? How can the public understand the voting intentions and how decisions were arrived at in this chamber if the voting arrangements are not transparent? Get your act together, over there.

Last night was embarrassing. There was Senator Bragg and his misadventure in striking off on his own to have an inquiry into the ABC's complaint-handling process, leading to Ita Buttrose, the chair of the ABC, asking this chamber to suspend or cancel that inquiry until the ABC had a chance to do its own work. That was an extraordinary move—almost unprecedented, I imagine.

The chair of the ABC asked this chamber to take a decision. We took it yesterday. I acknowledge that Senator Hanson-Young and Senator Gallagher moved a motion. It was supported by this chamber. Then what did we have? The government, which are always intent on attacking the ABC, decided last night that they would have one more go at attacking the ABC, that they would have one more go at disregarding their own hand-picked chair of the ABC, Ita Buttrose, that they would ignore her, that they would try to recommit a vote, that they would try to bring it on, that they would try to allow Senator Bragg to continue on his lark of attacking the ABC. Let's be clear: you cannot trust the Morrison government with the ABC. You cannot trust the cuts to the ABC and the political attacks on the ABC, the most trusted source of information in this country. And what do the most distrustful government we have seen and a prime minister who can't tell the truth do? They go about last night in a shambles of an event, trying to recommit this vote and reignite their attack on the ABC. You cannot trust them with the ABC. You cannot trust them with pairing arrangements. You cannot trust Senator Antic or Senator Rennick when they say they are going on strike. You cannot even trust the government to get their whipping arrangements right.

Let's have some transparency, let's have some visibility and let's rebuild some trust in the system, here in the chamber. Mr President, I implore you, as the new President, to ensure that we have that transparency. I implore the chamber to ensure that we have the transparency. Nothing less than our democracy depends on it.