Alex Antic (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

After that hiatus, I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by ministers to all questions without notice asked by coalition senators today.

Of course, there is plenty to talk about. We asked for answers in relation to a range of issues, all of which are central to the country today—child care, housing and the imminent unrealised capital gains tax among others. It caused me to pause and reflect upon the state of the nation as it generally stands. It seems almost inconceivable to me that a country as rich and as prosperous as Australia could be reduced to what it is today, such that we would have to sit here and ask questions in relation to those key issues, given the fact that we are talking about hundreds of thousands, now millions, of Australians who are homeless because of the reckless nature of the government's policies regarding immigration and housing.

We've got a crippled energy market, we've got a decimated manufacturing base, and we've got a developing culture of self-loathing leading to some of the most unaffordable, unachievable societal cohesion we have ever seen. It caused me this week, as we returned to parliament, to give consideration to, for the sake of people outside this building, of which there are something in the order of 27 million—half their luck!—and reflect upon how it has happened. What is it that we can reflect on in this building that shows that? I think you could mount a very strong case that this is actually happening, because this building, as we walk around and look at the inhabitants of it, is now in danger of becoming nothing more than a coffee spot for union heavies, for lobbyists and for bureaucrats, who seem to be populating the entire building. It becomes something of a kabuki theatre, in which the actors in this building simply mill around and play their part. The laws in this building, the laws that have created those crises, emanate as a result of a thought bubble that occurred somewhere in a foreign land in a conference or a think tank—the kind of meeting where you get well-dressed, well-coiffed bureaucrats talking on a panel, wearing a wireless mic, sitting around with crossed legs, answering questions and sharing ideas about what would make a great Australia and then booking meetings later on with the minister's people. Of course, the minister, when they come back and talk to them, isn't paying attention, because the ministers in this building are now preferring self-aggrandising, delivering keynotes, talking at think tanks, going to dinners and having puff pieces written about them.

This week we've seen the incredible spectacle—coming out of this side of the chamber exclusively, I would say—the invention of TikTok videos set to music, which has been an extraordinary development. There are a lot of dances coming out of your side of the chamber, Senator Wong.