Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

It is Labor working to protect charities and not-for-profits from the legislation from the previous government that sought to silence and suppress their political advocacy. It's Labor again delivering an independent anticorruption commission.

We in this chamber should hold ourselves to the highest standards. We should be concerned about the persistent data and information that comes to us about declining trust in public institutions. I would like to see this chamber firmly commit to an entirely cross-party approach to improving the standard of democratic institutions and improving trust in the parliament and all of the institutions of government. But I make the point that I began with. I think it's important that we talk up our democracy. I think we should talk up how incredibly successful we are in having transparent elections conducted with integrity, with universal franchise and which the public has confidence in.

I don't think it's helpful to constantly and repeatedly assert that those processes are not working for Australians. I do think it has real consequences when people persist in that approach. We will take a different approach. It is to say that we have done well but we can always do better. Everyone in this chamber has the opportunity to do so. I note the process that is on foot at the moment through the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, but this is an important opportunity for a conversation, and I look forward to the contributions from other senators.