Senator BIRMINGHAM (South Australia—Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (18:17): by leave—In all aspects of life there is always a time to draw a line in the sand, and I welcome the fact that this Senate has finally drawn a line in the sand to the reprehensible and repeated disruptive and disrespectful conduct of Senator Thorpe. Of course, this decision just taken relates to the incident that occurred this morning which well and truly crossed a line in that it entered the domain of physical conduct in this chamber, not just the type of verbal conduct that we have so repeatedly seen. Physical conduct towards another senator can have no place and no tolerance in this place. But it was, as Senator Wong acknowledged, a pattern of escalating and disrespectful behaviour—escalatory behaviour on repeated occasions that showed complete and repeated disrespect for you, President, in the chair and for all fellow senators. But, perhaps even more importantly, it created a workplace environment for clerks, for attendants, for security and for others around this chamber where they too felt at least uncomfortable and potentially worse. That is why it was so important to draw the line in the sand today and to be clear that there are standards this chamber will uphold and that those standards should be reflective of what any other workplace would expect. It is a special privilege to stand in this place as a senator. We get special privileges from standing in this place as a senator, and we should respect those privileges and show respect to one another when we exercise those privileges. President, it is beyond disappointing. It is a shameful double standard that we just saw from the Greens in opposing the setting of that standard and the drawing of the line that we had in this vote. The Greens would in no other circumstances tolerate from any major party senator—be they a Labor senator, Liberal senator or Nats senator—or, indeed, most of the crossbench— Opposition senators: Hear, hear! An opposition senator: That's right. The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator BIRMINGHAM: the type of behaviour that we saw today. They would be the first to call for the type of action the Senate has just taken. And there is a message in that for Australians. Senator Thorpe is only here because she was a Greens candidate, and, though she may no longer be a member of the Greens, the Greens are willing to defend behaviour that no other member of this Senate voted to defend. Not the Labor Party, not the Liberal Party, not the National Party, nor any other member of the crossbench was willing to defend the type of behaviour that the Senate has rightly just called out. I hope that Australians do not just judge Senator Thorpe for her actions today and the disrespect she has shown to the institution of our parliament but judge the Australian Greens for the disrespect they have shown to the institution of our parliament. I hope that all senators and Senator Thorpe can reflect upon these proceedings in a way that shows the type of respect that this place deserves in the future. We should have robust debates, we should absolutely have strong disagreements in this place, but how we conduct those debates should, as per the Jenkins review—which, as the Minister for Finance, I was proud to commission and proud to work with Kate Jenkins on—set the standard for how the nation debates its differences, not demonstrate the type of disrespect that drives division in our community. The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Birmingham. Before I call you, Senator Waters, I remind senators there is a gravity to this debate. Every person who speaks tonight, whether you agree with their opinion or not, will be heard in silence.