Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The response we saw in the House from former prime minister Scott Morrison to the findings of the Bell inquiry and the censure motion against him requires calling out, because there was an opportunity today for the former Prime Minister to apologise to the parliament, to the people of Australia and to our democratic traditions, and to put on record that mistakes were made.

I think most people in this place and people in the community would have appreciated hearing an apology today, but that is not what we got from former prime minister Scott Morrison today; we got defiance and denial that anything was wrong. I say this today because I want the parliament to understand that this is not partisan or political; it is more important than that. Some things matter more than politics. As Bridget Archer said in the other House today, sometimes these things are 'not a game'. This is not a game. When senators come in here and when ministers go to the Governor-General they swear an oath to serve the Australian people and to be honest to them, to be upfront with them and to keep them informed about their decisions. That is not what happened under the previous government. There is an opportunity now, I think, for members all across this chamber and all across this house and for every person who loves our democracy and loves our parliament to call this behaviour out, because it should never have happened and it should never happen again. (Time expired)