Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I inform the Senate that the President has received the following letter, dated 27 February, from Senator Hanson:

Pursuant to standing order 75, I give notice that today I propose to move "That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

Due to its litany of broken promises, inability to secure our borders against people smugglers, control skyrocketing immigration rates, or effectively tackle the cost-of- living crisis, the Albanese Labor Government has not upheld its responsibilities to the Australian people. Consequently, the Senate must issue a vote of no confidence in the Albanese Labor Government.

Is the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

With the concurrence of the Senate, the clerks will set the clock in line with the informal arrangements made by the whips.

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

While I want to acknowledge Senator Hanson's due election to the parliament here and her right to hold a view and propound a particular point of view in the chamber, I just can't agree with her characterisation of Australia that's embedded in the contribution she's just made. As the daughter of immigrants, the Australia that I live in is something that I'm proud to be a part of. I don't know any country in the world that's going to be perfect at every point of time in history, but the Australia that I know and the Australia that my children are growing up in and my grandson is growing up in is one that I'm really proud of. There's great stuff that we should celebrate. I'm frightened that the whingefest that can garner inches takes away from people's hope and passion for the great future this country has.

I appreciate the time to respond to Senator Hanson's matter, as it gives me the opportunity to clearly put on the record some of the blatant falsehoods that are perpetuated by some, sadly too often, conservative members in this parliament who seem determined to deride the nation rather than lift our sights. Sometimes, it seems they have a few issues with the truth as well. Senator Hanson's motion is less a matter of public importance and more of a grievance list. I'm going to attempt to unravel it and address each one in a respectable and sensible manner, which will echo the sensible and respectable manner of governing that is the hallmark of the Albanese government.

Senator Hanson wishes for clarification on Australian borders, so to this point I'd like to echo what Australia's Border Force Commissioner by the name of Michael Outram has said on the public record. He said that federal funding for border control has reached its highest level since 2015. There's just the fact. This includes considerable investment which was made last year. Mr Outram, who I might add was appointed by the previous government, is continuing a policy of strong border protections and ensuring that immigration only occurs through legal mechanisms.

I would caution Senator Hanson and others who are privileged to serve this nation, our home, Australia: the words we use in this public place matter, and, very sadly, people smugglers—who are profit-driven and don't care who they hurt—listen to what we say in this chamber and in the media. For those opposite to state that the borders of Australia are anything but strong, and that individuals who arrive here illegally will be dealt with in any manner other than the usual course of action, is blatantly incorrect. It's, frankly, dangerous. And it's unworthy of a representative of the nation in this parliament.

Senator Hanson wants to know about the Albanese government's immigration plans. Well, Minister O'Neil clarified, late last year: this government's fixing the immigration system. And goodness! What a state it was in—like on one of those renovation shows: 'We've got a real fixer-upperer!'—when we got here, with huge problems.

Following the findings of the Parkinson review, the plan will have five key objectives: raising living standards by boosting productivity; ensuring a fair go for all Australians and preventing migrant worker exploitation; building stronger communities through sustainable migration; strengthening international relationships by building strong regional economic and social ties; and making the system work by being fast, efficient and fair for migrants and employers. We inherited a broken system, but we're determined to fix it. We are rebuilding the Public Service to do the job that needs to be done.

Now, Senator Hanson wants to talk about Labor's cost-of-living tax cuts. Let's be clear: Labor wants every Australian to earn more and to keep more of what they earn. It's not that hard. It's a great message. It's a message for an Australia that is a better place to live. It's a message that people who've come to this country—like my parents—as immigrants, believe is the story of Australia: that they can have a better life here. Our Labor government is committed to doing what is right when it's required to ensure that every Australian who is working is going to get a tax cut in July and improve the quality of their life.

Gerard Rennick (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support this motion, because the Australian people have lost all confidence in the Australian Prime Minister. And can I say: what a shocking display of insensitivity we saw on the weekend, when the Prime Minister was flying around between the capital cities, going to pop concerts, when Australians are doing it tough—when Australians are struggling under the cost of living. Many Australians right now are homeless because of this reckless immigration rate, which has been over 500,000 people. And how does Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister, respond? He responds by flying around on a taxpayer funded jet, going to see Taylor Swift in Sydney and then getting on the jet and going to a concert hosted by a billionaire. These are not the hallmarks of a man who is concerned about the suffering that is being endured by the Australian people. It's about time he actually started to come up with some solutions as to how he is going to deal with the cost of living.

I can give him a couple of ideas. First of all, he can lower the immigration rate to a level that is sustainable. Right now—and I'm not against immigration—we really couldn't afford to have anyone coming in. I accept we'll have some people coming in. But we have got people who are homeless—and these people aren't necessarily out of work; they just literally cannot find a house to live in. We have got tent cities springing up all over Australia. And this sort of rubbish has to stop.

I want to call out Senator O'Neill for having the audacity to call this motion a 'whingefest'. This is not a whingefest. How dare the Labor Party say that of us, senators, who are calling out the hypocrisy of the Labor government! They have no solutions. They've basically rebranded the tax cuts, that were originally brought down by the Liberal Party, and now are trying to claim credit for them themselves. And they haven't gone far enough, I might add. As I pointed out yesterday, they are giving back, on average, about $800 a year, and the cost of living, on average, has gone up by about $8,000 per year. It's hardly a satisfactory solution.

We don't want to hear from Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister, accusations of a whingefest; that is not fair. The answer we now get every time we raise an issue is: 'Don't be political. Don't play politics with it.' I'm sorry, but this is from the party, the Labor Party, that played politics with a rape allegation; they weaponised a rape allegation to get at the former prime minister. What a disgrace! They weaponised the bushfires in 2019 to get at the former prime minister. They weaponised the pandemic and caused all these unnecessary lockdowns—and, as ruled today, these COVID vaccine mandates were unlawful—all for political purposes. The Labor Party has no right to come in here and call out what the Liberal Party and the coalition are trying to do in trying to hold this government to account.

Another area where the people have lost faith in the Labor Party and the current government is the lack of transparency. This was one of the many lies the current Prime Minister told. He said he would be completely transparent when he got into office, yet he would not release the minutes of the first National Cabinet meeting. He said he would release the minutes of the National Cabinet meeting, and he did not do that. The Labor Party voted against Senator Duniam's very good idea that we have quarterly reporting of energy pricing, so that we can start to benchmark the cost of energy because what gets measured gets improved. I cannot get from the CSIRO an actual way that net zero is calculated. I cannot get from the TGA the primers used in the PCR test to indicate whether or not the PCR test was actually testing for COVID. There are a range of issues on which the Labor Party will not disclose the inner workings of the government. That just goes to show that they're really on the side of big corporations and big unions—and, let's not forget, they wouldn't disclose the fees paid by superannuation funds to unions. This government needs to pick itself up.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm disappointed, but I have to touch on this. I listened to Senator Hanson's speech quietly. She went to the Voice. I understand the country have had the opportunity to have their say, and they did have their say, but I find it really bitterly disappointing that it has to keep being dragged up as 'dividing the nation'. I want to say this, Senator Hanson, and you know my views on this: I am so proud to work in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, and my very dear friends up there, the majority of them Aboriginal, asked me for their support, and I was very pleased to give them my support. When the Voice is thrown up with the racial division stuff—people are still hurting out there. Aboriginal people are still hurting. A lot of my Aboriginal friends in the Kimberley really took that to heart; it was a real kick in the guts for them, I have to say. You will speak for yourself, Senator Hanson, but it disappoints me when I hear that.

I just want to touch on a few other things. Senator Hanson, I have the greatest respect for you and I think I've always treated you as an individual, as you have treated me, but you make statements around corrupt union bosses, and it's the same rhetoric. We have just passed in this parliament—and I know you didn't support the bill; I know you weren't here, for other reasons—the 'closing the loopholes' bill. Part of that was a demographic of Australian workers, a lot of whom had respect for you when you stood with them and encouraged the former government to get rid of the RSRT, which was flawed—nothing was put back in its place. But they were bitterly disappointed that they didn't get that opportunity to stand up for transport reform. They can speak for themselves.

There were some issues that we went through that went to the heart of the road transport industry in the first tranche, which Senator David Pocock, Senator Lambie and Senator Thorpe supported. One was criminalising wage theft, and another was 'same job, same pay'. These were integral issues that went to the heart of the road transport industry, where so many really good operators, not only owner-drivers but employers—and you have never heard me count out the transport industry.

I see us all as even. I see us all as decent human beings who get up in the morning and just want to go to work to get paid properly. But when they didn't seek that support, the transport industry said to its elected representatives, 'Why are we any different to other sectors?'

I know there are a lot of members in this building here that protect and stand up for the farming, agriculture and horticulture industries. On my side, with 18½ years sitting on the RRAT committee, I'm a champion for the horticulture, agriculture, processing and producing industries in this nation, and I know Senator Hanson and other senators have been very forthright in standing up for dairy farmers—I know because I have been sitting beside you on Senate inquiries. But while the economic employers at the top of the supply chain think about this—and we know who they are, we know the retail companies, we sit in their DCs not getting paid for three or four hours waiting, and they can defend themselves—and while they're are suppressing their supply chain costs and screwing down farmers, they are doing it to my industry too. But my industry said, 'Stop, we don't want to be screwed down anymore; we want to have some minimum standards.'

I get so annoyed when others on the other side stand up and scream about the poor farmers getting screwed down—which I wouldn't argue with—and say they want to reduce the cost of the transport industry. I ask all senators in this building: why is it fair to suppress one industry because another industry is being screwed down? I don't think it is and I would be the first person in this building to stand—no one in this chamber will beat me—if we introduced minimum standards for the agriculture industry so those economic gorillas at the top of the economic supply chain can't screw them down like they have been screwing our trucking industry. So when we start talking and debating, and we have passionate views, I just say this: every action has a reaction and a knock-on effect, but when other industries are attacked, or do not get the love because they want to be paid properly but other industries are getting screwed, we should think more about the bigger picture on this one. That is my humble opinion.

Ralph Babet (Victoria, United Australia Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in support of Senator Hanson's motion. It is an easy one to support, isn't it? The Prime Minister, Mr Albanese, just keeps messing up over and over again. I, like many other Australians at this point, have zero confidence in this Labor government—zip, zilch, nada, not even an ounce. This Albanese Labor government can't or won't control immigration. They have greenlit more than a million people to come into this country not because they are altruistic but because it is a Ponzi scheme to prop up our GDP. This Albanese government can't or won't police our borders because the boats are back. The Albanese government can't or won't protect children from dangerous ideologies of all types—from climate alarmism to gender confusion and Marxism. This Labor government can't or won't hold a royal commission into the handling of the COVID response. They are trying to sweep it under the carpet—nothing to see here! They won't even support my motion to investigate excess deaths or stand up for mandated workers.

Well, Prime Minister, today I have some good news today, Queensland's mandatory COVID vaccine orders have been proven to be unlawful in the Supreme Court. I thank Mr Clive Palmer, who bankrolled that action. The Albanese government can't or won't solve the cost-of-living crisis, probably because its own reckless renewable energy policy is one of the key drivers of rising prices. The only thing renewable about renewable energy is the cost. The only thing green about green energy is the money. I repeatedly say the government can't or won't do this, or do that because I am still not sure whether this government's total ineptitude is due to incompetence or whether it is intentional. The Prime Minister shows more enthusiasm for Taylor Swift—or, as he likes to call her, Tay Tay—than he does for governing our nation.

He wasted millions on a divisive—and frankly, in my opinion, racist—referendum that tried to divide us by colour. But don't worry. Shake it off, right? He promised to lower energy prices and he promised to deliver us—and I know we keep saying this—$275 off our power bills. Where is mine, Mr Prime Minister? Don't worry; shake it off. He said, 'Under our plan, no family will be worse off but almost all families will be better off.' Now, for those playing at home, do you feel like you're better off? I don't feel like I'm better off. Don't worry; shake it off.

And 149 dangerous detainees were released into the community. He shakes it off, just as the detainees have shaken off their government-supplied electronic monitoring bracelets. Rising cost of living: shake it off. He said, 'Labor has real lasting plans for cheaper mortgages.' Well, guess what? Mortgages are through the roof. We've had 12 interest rate rises under this Labor government, and Australians are paying $24,000 per year extra on a $750,000 mortgage. Shake that off.

He promised to make no changes to super. Guess what? He made changes to super. He promised not to touch franking credits. Guess what? He touched franking credits. Do you know what he can't shake off? He can't shake off his litany of failures—and they are mounting up for all to see. On Saturday the Prime Minister made a special appearance at a private function where he joined a crowd of 200 political and business elites to live out their teenage dreams with none other than Katy Perry. Forget the bushfires destroying regional Victoria. Clearly there is no better way to restore your image and relate to the common man than to spend your time hanging out with foreign pop stars and other elites.

Mr Prime Minister, the Australian people are wide awake, and I suspect and expect that they'll make their voices heard and they will shake off this government. And do you know what? All of us here in this place—well, at least on one side of this chamber—and everyone playing at home will be better off for it.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the urgency motion, as moved by Senator Hanson, be agreed to.