Chisholm, Sen Anthony

Senator CHISHOLM (Queensland—Assistant Minister for Education and Assistant Minister for Regional Development) (10:37): This is a very serious issue that we are confronting. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Chandler ): Order, Senator Chisholm. Senator Whish-Wilson, I will allow you to make the point of order, anticipating what it is. Senator Whish-Wilson: It would be nice for you to listen too, Madam Acting Deputy President. I've been on my feet three times now and I haven't had the call. I know that's at your discretion, but the Labor Party have spoken, you've been to the other side of the chamber; I think it would be fair for you to allocate the Greens a spot in this. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I take your point. I did see Senator Chisholm first that time and I'm giving him the call. Senator CHISHOLM: This is a very serious issue that the country confronts, and Minister Watt has been detailing the thorough and urgent actions that he has taken as the minister responsible in the Albanese government. But it's also 'exhibit A' in evidence that the opposition have learned nothing from this election campaign. The way they have come into the chamber today and the way they have done this over the first two weeks of sittings show that they have learnt nothing from the election result. They've also observed nothing over the last three years in how the Australian people react to these sorts of issues. With the opposition, all we have seen is politics. They have played politics with this issue consistently since they've been in opposition and they have actually done nothing constructively, have offered no solutions, to help the country get through it. I think it goes to show that they've learnt nothing from their time in government and nothing from the election campaign, and they're going to continue on. Well, we are not going to fall into that trap. We are going to do the right thing by the Australian people. We're going to act in the national interest, and we are also going to do the right thing by the country and work collaboratively with the industry as well. There have been numerous quotes that my colleagues have raised about them being supportive of the action that we are taking. But we all remember what the government was like. We all remember that they were rejected at the last election campaign because, on any issue that confronted them, they always played politics with it. It was always politics first; the national interest played a very distant role in that regard. Minister Watt has continuously answered questions in this chamber, answered questions through the media and explained the actions that this government is taking to deal with this issue. It's really disappointing that the opposition, teaming up with One Nation, have learned nothing from the last election campaign and are going to continue to play politics with this issue when we actually need a national response to this with everyone working constructively together and putting the national interest of the country first.