Senator Eric Abetz

"Given that Labor and the Greens have now guillotined a record number of Bills in the Senate it's timely to remind ourselves of what Labor and the Greens have said about time management of Government business in the past," Senator Abetz said today.  

"It's worth noting that in the last three years of the Howard Government between 2004/2007 the Coalition (when the Coalition had a majority in the Senate) guillotined just 36 Bills." 

"But in just this sitting fortnight alone Labor and the Greens will have managed to guillotine the same number of Bills (36)." 

"The Coalition guillotined 36 Bills in three years - Labor and the Greens are guillotining 36 Bills in just two weeks." 

"By the time the Parliament rises for the winter break Labor and the Greens will have guillotined three times that many Bills, a total of 125, and that's just so far in the life of the current Parliament." 

"It's likely that number could reach 200 before the Parliament ends, making it six times as many." 

"This is an attack on democracy," Senator Abetz said. 

"These bills relate to the expenditure of billions of dollars in taxpayers money, yet the taxpayers of Australia are being denied a voice in the Australian Parliament by the deliberate avoidance of proper Parliamentary process." 

"The gagging of debate and shutting down the ability of the Parliament to scrutinise Legislation is in direct breach of the so-called "new paradigm" we were promised by Labor, The Greens and the Country Independents, Senator Abetz said.