2021-06-17
Lines attributable to Greens leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women Larissa Waters:
“The government and One Nation have again conspired to block the Greens’ Bill to establish a Commission of Inquiry into Christian Porter’s fitness as a minister.
“In the Senate today I attempted to amend the Selection of Bills report to refer the Bill to inquiry, after the government last night blocked our request for an inquiry. The government, with willing help from One Nation, prevented that from happening.
“This is yet another near-unprecedented and astonishingly cynical abuse of parliamentary process. Yesterday, they prevented a first reading of the Bill, something that, to our knowledge, has only happened five times in the history of the Senate.
“The government and One Nation stand condemned for this undemocratic display and should explain to the friends and family of Mr Porter’s accuser, survivors of rape, and all Australian women why they’re so afraid of scrutiny.
“To be clear: this Bill would establish an independent inquiry, separate from parliament and presided over by a retired judge, that would make recommendations to the Prime Minister, who would ultimately be responsible for deciding what to do with those recommendations.
“The suggestion that our Bill is a witch hunt is laughable. We are simply trying to ensure the integrity of the government and the enforcement of parliamentary standards, something the PM seems utterly uninterested in doing.
“On Monday I’ll again try to have the Bill referred to a committee for inquiry. Failing that, I’ll move a motion to reintroduce the Bill.
“And I’ll keep reintroducing the Bill over, and over, and over again, until either the government or One Nation realise that the women of Australia deserve better and that all sexual assault allegations must be taken seriously.”