Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations) | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a statement of no more than five minutes.

Leave not granted.

Pursuant to contingent notice of motion standing in the name of the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, I move:

That so much of standing orders be suspended such that I may make a five-minute statement.

Ministers are accountable to this parliament, and the motion from Senator Cash goes to one of the most fundamental principles of our democracy, yet this government wants to shut down this debate. They are accountable for the laws that they produce. No matter how bad those laws are, they are accountable for them. They are accountable for the information they provide. No matter how mean and tricky they want to be about providing that information, they are accountable for providing it. And they're accountable when they deliberately deny the Senate the opportunity to scrutinise that legislation, and that is exactly what has happened in this chamber in this last fortnight.