Ricky Muir (Victoria, Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to talk about the toxic nature of party politics in the parliament. Madam Acting Deputy President O'Neill, I have the utmost respect for you and your colleagues, so I suggest you block your ears for a little bit!

The recent, unnecessary, Senate distraction in relation to the trade union royal commission is the most recent example of this toxic political environment. The political stunt served to not only delay and distract from the role of the Senate to review the legislative agenda of the government; it had the effect of wasting the resources of my office and the offices of other senators who constantly had to drop their work to discuss the issues around this motion. This is time that could have been better spent investigating the issues in relation to the legislative agenda of the government—something that we are paid to influence. We are not paid to influence the outcome of a royal commission or legal proceedings. Had this motion from the opposition passed, it would have had no effect on the royal commission. The Governor General would have been under no obligation to act on the message from the opposition. Legal representation for the unions have decided not to have the apprehended bias finding challenged in the courts at this stage and that suggests to me that they either accept the ruling or they are worried that the court will also dismiss their application. I am a strong believer in the separation of powers, and this motion sought to interfere in legal matters.

This stunt was a new low in partisan politics, where opposition for opposition's sake and disrupting the routine of business and proceedings appear to be the norm. The people who we represent are sick of this poor level of leadership. Leadership is more than zingers or three-word slogans. Leadership is about setting an example that inspires others to follow, rather than simply selecting the lesser of two evils every three years. I call upon the opposition to start to show real leadership and start to inspire people based on their ability to be a real alternative government and to focus less on political stunts and disruption.

To demonstrate that I am a true crossbench senator and willing to criticise both of the major parties, I would like to point out that the government are not without fault in this matter. On some matters, the government have an attitude of: it is their way or the highway. When things do not go the government's way, they are quick to blame someone or something else. The people want solutions, not excuses. The government need to realise that senators such as myself are more interested in finding common ground and solutions to problems.

I respect the fact that the people chose a particular flavour of government for this parliament, and I am ready and willing to assist them with the moderate and sensible aspects of their legislative agenda. You will, however, find that I will reject the more extreme elements of their legislative agenda, in line with my Senate commitments. The government, however, needs to remember how to communicate, not only with senators who are willing to work with them but also with the general public. I again remind the government that good ideas well-presented will get my support. Bad ideas or ideas that are likely to hurt those who are disadvantaged will not. Most importantly, good ideas that are poorly presented are also unlikely to be supported. It is not my role as a cross-bench senator to sell the government's policy to the public.

The government should be selling the merits of their legislative agenda in language that inspires the Australian people to follow, and spend less time combating the opposition. Likewise the opposition should start to focus on selling their alternative policy position to the Australian people, pointing out the merits of their approach versus the government's agenda. There is not a lot of point, however, for a future government of a different political persuasion undoing negotiated legislation based on ideology. A good example of this is the recent registered organisations legislation. Under the last set of changes to the act, made under the last parliament, it took the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce well over 12 months of work to update its constitution and rules to meet the new requirements. They simply did not have the internal volunteer resources to meet these new obligations on their own. They did receive helpful assistance from the Fair Work Commission's Regulatory Compliance Branch, but due to the time constraints involved significant costs were incurred by the VACC in order to meet the required time frames

The most recent legislation would have required organisations such as the VACC to effectively undo a lot of the work recently completed to remain compliant under the most recent changes to the act. This all comes at significant administrative and financial cost for this volunteer organisation. The VACC were also concerned that volunteer-run organisations would struggle to attract people to fill office holder roles. This is due to the potential personal and business risk that serving in these unpaid, volunteer positions exposes them to under this legislation. The government needs to consider the costs to volunteer organisations that are caught up in the unintended consequences of this or any other legislative change.

There is more to leading a country than simply arguing the ideology of union versus employer. This is just one example: is the RET really safe from future meddling? Now the ALP is suggesting a much broader RET, and this is confusing industry and introducing investment risk—making it almost impossible for some projects to receive funding. There is no certainty or stability in constant fear and confusion about what will be repealed or heavily amended to suit ideology in the next three-year governing cycle. All governments should be especially mindful of that when they seek to change legislation so soon after recent changes were implemented, especially when these changes appear to be ideologically motivated. I am calling upon both parties to call a truce to this senseless back and forth and tit for tat on policies and issues. I am also calling on the elected representatives of this parliament to show inspirational leadership and seize upon the opportunities that are before us in the national interest of Australia. Thank you.

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Hurry up Senator Seselja, you are late.

Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not, I am early.

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will call Senator Bilyk.