I must be guilty! Apparently we are all beholden to corporate interests and corporations. I do not know if the strings are visible to people today, but I am just a puppet, apparently, for corporate interests. It is all based on conspiracies. Read more

As you know, Acting Deputy President Williams, I am only new to this place, so I am not sure if there is provision in the standing orders for the Labor Party to withdraw a matter of public importance after it was submitted in the morning before we start business, but I think they might have wanted to withdraw today's. Read more

I want to talk today about tax policy and families. In the last few months, the Prime Minister has indicated that the government will focus on developing a policy for a fairer go for families in 2015, and I welcome that focus because one of our core objectives should always be to support families and make it as easy as possible for people to have kids. Read more

I want to talk a little bit about beef prices and agriculture prices more generally tonight. A couple of weeks ago I went to the Gracemere saleyards near Rockhampton. They are getting record prices for beef right now, which is a great thing for our farmers because particularly in the beef sector they have been doing it tough for a very long time. Read more

I agree in part with Senator Ludlam. Although I have no theological opposition to nuclear power, it is too costly thanks to the bountiful and cheap sources of fossil fuel we have in this nation. But I take one issue.  Read more

This is the first time in this place I have had the opportunity to speak on any refugee or immigration matters. At the outset, I would like to associate myself with the sentiments put on the record by Senator Xenophon and Senator Madigan.  Read more

It is great to speak on this Greens motion. It is great to see the Greens want to take some action on corporate tax evasion. Hopefully they will support the government's bill to clamp down on R&D issues for large companies. My understanding is that the Greens are not supporting that. Certainly the Labor Party are not supporting it right now. Read more

Mr President, I will start with an apology to you. I am sorry to keep you around here for 20 minutes, but I did think that you enjoyed my speech so much the other night that I will actually double it tonight. I know that the hard working girls in the whips office, Charlotte and Bec, really enjoyed it, so I am going to 20 minutes tonight. Read more

When I sit here and listen to the arguments of the other side in this debate and during question time, I am reminded of that great American children's TV show Sesame Street. The children up in the gallery are perhaps more recent viewers of that show than I am, but I remember that there is a great song in Sesame Street called 'One of These Things is not Like the Other'.  Read more

It is a great pleasure to rise tonight to speak about a very important industry, particularly to Queensland—the sugar industry. Sugar has traditionally been and still is an extremely important industry to Queensland, but it is also very important to the whole nation.  Read more