Senate debates Committees
Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee; Reference
Senator BOB BROWN(Tasmania—Leader of the Australian Greens)(3.30 pm)—I move:
- That, upon its introduction, the Preventing the Misuse of Government Advertising Bill 2010 be referred to the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 21 June 2010.
Kerry O'Brien Tasmania, Australian Labor Party
3:30 pm
by leave—The government opposes this motion. We recognise that Senator Brown has the support of the opposition and therefore has a majority. We will not be calling a division.
Bob Brown Tasmania, Australian Greens
The government is seeking to prevent this bill going to the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee.
Kerry O'Brien Tasmania, Australian Labor Party
No, we are not. I was just recording the vote instead of having a division.
Joe Ludwig Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate
Senator Ludwig interjecting—
Alan Ferguson Deputy-President
Order! We will not have the chatter across the chamber. Senator Brown has the call.
Bob Brown Tasmania, Australian Greens
I am quite happy for there not to be a division, but my hearing was, and I will stand corrected, that the government did not support this motion. I am commenting on the government’s lack of support for a bill to be referred to a committee—very unusual behaviour. There is a very short time line, but the bill ought to go to a committee for a look. I have made it clear that I will be moving to suspend standing orders to have this bill debated in the Senate next week. The bill is about the misuse of government funds being prevented when the government moves to allocate millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money for advertising. I might say that I would have thought it is a bill that would have had government support, because just a couple of years ago Senator Wong, for example, was advocating almost exactly what this Greens bill would do—that is, have the Auditor-General watch over government advertising to make sure it is in the public interest. I am sure that we are going to hear from the government a better explanation than we have had today as to why it would oppose this bill being looked at by the committee, but I do not think it is good form.
Question agreed to.