Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Finance, Minister for Women, Manager of Government Business in the Senate and Vice-President of the Executive Council) (15:16): The government won't be supporting this suspension of standing orders. I think we've all learned today that we won't invite the opposition to attend the next sitting Friday. That's what we're seeing— Senator McGrath: That's because you don't like accountability! Senator GALLAGHER: Well, no, that's because— The PRESIDENT: Minister Gallagher, please resume your seat. Senator McGrath— Senator Hughes interjecting— The PRESIDENT: And Senator Hughes! I have just called the chamber to order! Minister Gallagher. Senator McGrath: If you put wages up— Senator GALLAGHER: Senator McGrath, you're making my point for me! You're shouting at us! Keep going—come on! The PRESIDENT: Senator McGrath! Senator GALLAGHER: Is this the Senate of Australia? This is honestly the Senate—Australia is watching this! The PRESIDENT: Minister Gallagher, please resume your seat— Senator GALLAGHER: He's— The PRESIDENT: Minister, I have asked you to sit down. Senator McGrath, I have constantly called you because you are out of order and you are being disrespectful. Minister Gallagher. Senator GALLAGHER: Thank you, President. I think that this suspension demonstrates what we've been seeing for the last 10 months. But it has really hit home this week for the opposition: it seems to be an increasingly irrelevant and obstructionist gathering of senators in this place who are determined to undermine, distract and cause damage to anything constructive that tries to be done in this place. That's what we've been seeing. That's why here we are, with the last 10 minutes of the Senate sitting this week, dealing with a suspension debate. Nothing else, just a suspension debate, essentially reflecting on their conduct this week. Opposition senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator GALLAGHER: Obstructionist and irrelevant: say no to everything—say no to absolutely everything! Everything that we are sent here to do in this place to progress issues on behalf of the Australian people and to implement the policies that we took to the election, you say no to. You say no to wage rises. You say no to the safeguard mechanism. You say no to the climate laws. You say no to extra housing and you say no to new manufacturing jobs. The list goes on and on and on. And when you say no to everything you have nothing to say, do you? So you have to move suspension debates, like you did this morning and like you're doing now, because you are so irrelevant that you have nothing to bring to this chamber. You have absolutely no value to bring to this chamber and so we're at the point, with 10 minutes to go, where this is the best that you have. This is the best that you have! You say no to almost every piece of legislation that comes into this chamber. You don't want to debate anything. You don't want to talk about it. Your behaviour— Opposition senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Minister Gallagher, please resume your seat. Once again, and I reminded senators of this earlier, if you wish to participate in the debate please seek the call. It is not okay to continue to be so disorderly that I have to call this a place to order every few minutes. Senator GALLAGHER: The government has done more in 10 months than those opposite did in almost 10 years. Senator Van: You're kidding! You're absolutely kidding yourself. The PRESIDENT: Senator Van! Senator GALLAGHER: We have done more in 10 months, and you can't stand it. You can't stand the fact that that is what we have done. We've gone around implementing our election commitments. We've gone around with the commitments we made to the Australian people to put those in place, and you have voted no at pretty much every single opportunity. That's what has happened, and that's why we find ourselves here, with 10 minutes to go, discussing this suspension motion, which won't even get completed by the end of the time the Senate sits. That's the strategic brilliance of what's being put before the Senate today! We have been implementing our policies for women. We have been implementing our policies to invest in early childhood education. We have been implementing policies to put downward pressure on energy prices. You even voted no to that—$1½ billion going in to ensure people's power bills don't increase to the point that they otherwise would have, and you voted no to that! I mean, honestly! How do you go back to your jurisdictions and explain that to constituents? How do you go back and say: 'Oh, well, actually, you know what? The government tried to put downward pressure on your electricity bills, and we said no.' There's a badge of honour! There's something ticked off in Canberra! What about the minute wages were getting moving? Getting wages moving is something you spent 10 years opposing. All the attempts that we make, like our secure jobs, better pay legislation—you say no, no, no. Nothing. All the bills that were in place for this week—you said no to all of them. National Reconstruction Fund? No. Housing Australia Future Fund? No. That's not good enough for those opposite! You didn't do anything in 10 years and you don't want to do anything for the next year either, it seems. The Housing Australia Future Fund—who could oppose putting extra money into housing? People of Australia, I give you those that will do that! Here they are, lined up, every single one of them! Today's behaviour has been a disgrace, with two suspension motions on a day that we were sent here to do government legislation and you couldn't bear it because you don't want to get anything done.