Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

I just have a brief contribution to make on the motion and the amendments before the chamber. Last week, we had an unprecedented moment in the Senate where all non-government senators chose to hold executive power to account. The juvenile response by the government in response to the order of the Senate in question time last week and in their tactics again yesterday showed that they were in no mood to actually respect the decision of the Senate. So I welcome a resolution to the request of the Senate for this document to be released, for the government to keep its word but, more importantly, to comply with an order of the Australian Senate. For all the shouting outside of parliament about the lack of transparency and the lack of trust in our institutions, it is actually beholden on all of us here to sometimes put our own political purposes and benefits aside and act in the national interest, and this chamber was purposefully set up under our Constitution to hold executive power to account. Serious and significant powers are vested in what we do here in order to hold governments of all persuasions to account on behalf of the Australian people. What we were able to do last week was start a process by which that can happen.

I recall, as I was listening to Senator Hanson-Young's contribution and the sideswipe at the major parties—insert Greens outrage—