Questions Without Notice: Energy

October 18, 2017

Senator CHISHOLM (Queensland) (15:25): I certainly wouldn't accuse the government of being flat-footed on energy; in fact, they've been very fleet of foot, because they've had so many policies over the last couple of years. I think we have to go back and look at some of the history of this. We know that, as Prime Minister, Tony Abbott promised that bills would reduce by $550, yet we know how much they've gone up under this government. We know...

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Matters of Urgency - Student Visas

October 17, 2017

I rise to speak on this matter as well. When I first saw this, this morning, I thought, 'Maybe One Nation are going to express some concern for foreign workers that have been exploited.' We've seen various examples of that over recent years. But, no, I think what we've got with One Nation is just another dog whistle. We know that Senator Hanson has attacked foreign students in this country as early as in February this year, where she said: 'I...

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MATTERS OF URGENCY - Student Visas

October 17, 2017

Senator CHISHOLM (Queensland) (16:43): I rise to speak on this matter as well. When I first saw this, this morning, I thought, 'Maybe One Nation are going to express some concern for foreign workers that have been exploited.' We've seen various examples of that over recent years. But, no, I think what we've got with One Nation is just another dog whistle. We know that Senator Hanson has attacked foreign students in this country as early as in...

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Bills - Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Reform) Bill 2017, Commercial Broadcasti...

September 14, 2017

I wanted to reflect on the contribution we saw from Senator Xenophon last night. We know Senator Xenophon can be a bit of a chameleon, and until I got into this chamber I certainly had admired it from afar. Having been able to observe it over the last 12 months, the way that he performs in this place is very admirable. From what I can work out, there are basically three versions of Nick Xenophon. There's the South Australian battler, sticking...

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Adjournment - Australian Labor Party

September 12, 2017

It is obviously hard to follow that contribution from Senator Hinch with what I was going to talk about—and I will get to that—but I do know that Senator Hinch's motivation in this regard is always well-intentioned. I hope that those people who are in the gallery are getting the appropriate support they need. I also hope the other victims that Senator Hinch didn't name are comfortable with what he did, but, more importantly, get the ongoing su...

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Questions Without Notice: Aged Care, Energy

September 12, 2017

Senator CHISHOLM (Queensland) (15:31): Well, the Nationals certainly weren't very agnostic on the weekend, were they? We saw what came in, echoing the thoughts of the right wing of the Liberal Party and trying to kill off the clean energy target. That's not very agnostic at all. It's no wonder that we see so much chaos, dysfunction and misinformation coming from those opposite.

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