Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

after the September election last year, because your party, the previous government—which we know was hopeless, and we have acknowledged and recognised the deficiencies in it—delayed and obfuscated and sat on this very matter for a very long time. It was pointed out by Senator Johnston, the defence minister, that, when this was talked about originally, the previous defence minister sat on it for two years plus. It was referred to a committee. There were numerous votes against it by the Labor Party. So how do you account for this miraculous conversion of Senator Farrell? I come to the conclusion that he is no longer beholden to the factional machine that made him such an important and influential member, because the factional machine dumped him, effectively. They said, 'We don't want you anymore, Senator Farrell. We don't want you in this parliament; we don't want you in the other parliament.' I think it is worth pointing out that while they were doing that they were taking advantage of one of those gentlemanly codes of chivalry, because Senator Farrell stood aside from his duly elected and democratically appointed position as No. 1 on the—