James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) | Hansard source

I'd like to point out, as Senator Scarr said, that Senator Urquhart is expressing her freedom of speech. I say that is a brilliant thing, Senator Urquhart, notwithstanding the fact that interjections are always disorderly. But it is brilliant that you have interjected. What I would like is for all Australians to have the same right that you have in relation to interjections. I would like for all Australians to have the same rights that we have in this chamber—to have that freedom of speech. I say to Senator Urquhart and to those who might be listening that, at the moment, that right is being dissipated. It is being washed away by these left-wing elitists, the new establishment who want everything to change because they're so angry and so unhappy with Australia. They think Australia is a failed experiment, whereas I think and those on the right side of politics, those of us who are conservatives, believe that Australia is the very embodiment of what a liberal democracy could be like and should be like if we continue to look at the pillars that built Australia, particularly those Judeo-Christian pillars of where freedoms came from.

This goes back to my opening point that, when countries fail, they fail because they stop listening to their citizens. If you look at the history of the world—and I am someone who probably spends a little bit too much time reading history books—and you look at how countries have failed, you'll see that they've failed because they've imprisoned their own people and eventually those people rise up and eventually that particular system of government changes.

In Australia, we are a liberal democracy, and we should always ensure that the politicians live in fear of the people and that the people have the tools with which to keep politicians accountable. That main weapon that the people should have is freedom of speech—the right to ensure that those decision-makers here in Canberra are kept accountable. The coalition will be supporting this reference.