Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

If you listened to what the government just had to say, there's this claim that we're preventing the government from voting on questions of orders for the production of documents. If the government had read the motion, they would see it does precisely the opposite. We are voting on government amendments; we're just doing it as a job lot.

I'll remind senators that yesterday, the day before and the last sitting week we had verbatim repeated motions to amend orders for the production of documents. There was one after another after another—almost identical, in fact. To that end, we thought we might assist the government, allowing them to have more time to actually get on with government business and do the things that the leader herself came down to talk about—to deal with matters of foreign affairs and their belated response to assist Australians caught in the Middle East. It was interesting that the leader came down here to speak to this motion rather than dealing with those urgent matters, but there is no prevention of the government's right to vote against an order for the production of documents being exercised here. For those in the gallery and listening at home, an order for production of documents is just transparency. It is us wanting to see a document belonging to government and relating to you—relating to how we spend your money. They're voting no to those things. They don't want you to know. That's what an order for the production of documents is, ladies and gentlemen. I just want to make that clear when it comes to what the government has been saying.

Over the last four sitting days, would you believe we've had limited time to do very important things, like deal with national security and foreign affairs. We have spent six hours and 31 minutes dealing with formal business. We're getting our steps up from one side of the chamber to the other, so there are good fitness benefits there! But we've had six hours and 31 minutes voting on questions before this parliament, half of which could be dispensed with, which is the point of this motion. These amendments to delete all words after 'that' and replace them with whatever the government want to put in, which is exactly the same every time, could be done away with if senators support the motion that Senator Cash wants to debate today. We want to be able to deal with the issues this government says are important, as voiced by the leader just before. We don't want to stand in the way of that, and it is not just us who have been seeking to divide on every single amendment this government puts forward. They're the ones who are doing this. They are the ones who are stringing out formal business. That could end if this suspension is supported and this motion is passed.

As stated, when it comes to transparency, remember that this is a government that said: 'We are going to be more transparent than that last evil government. The coalition government would hide everything and make sure the public saw nothing. No OPD was ever responded to under them.' Look at what's happening here. When you do get a document, it is just black ink because everything has been redacted. It's not light reading; there is no reading, because this government don't want you to see what they're doing on your behalf. This is why they have been tying themselves in knots for the last few sitting days. It's particularly about the crossbench, as the Manager of Government Business alluded to, who have limited resources and need to be across everything. They need access to this information, hence the number of orders for production of documents and request for transparency. A bit of disinfectant and natural light is being applied to the business of government in these motions. That's what we support here.

If there is room for reform, let's get on and talk about it. Let's talk about how we can refine how this process works. But, with every day that goes past, after six hours and 31 minutes of bells ringing and senators crossing back and forward, I can tell you now: if there was a productivity measure for how we spend our time during formal business, the taxpayers of Australia have gained nothing from it. The government have voted no every single time, and they are on their own. They have united the entire Senate against the government when it comes to matters of transparency. Everyone from One Nation to the Australian Greens has been voting against the government's approach here. That's got to tell you something. Something is very wrong with the process this government is adopting when it comes to provision of information and how they're managing this chamber. Sadly, it does paint a picture of loss of control.

We've had six hours and 31 minutes of lost, wasted time. That is not good for Australia, it's not good for democracy, and it's not good for transparency. So, to that end, how can a government continue operating this way? There is no solution in sight. We've put forward a solution. It makes sense. It will cut down the amount of time we're wasting on this by half so we can get on and do the job Australians want us to do.