MOTIONS – Censure Senator Babet

I want to make clear that I would have voted for this censure motion. I had taken the opportunity to call Senator Babet this morning, after I found out about this, and let him know that, while I consider him a mate, I didn’t at all support the statements he made. They were reprehensible, as the Leader
of the Opposition said, and they’re not the sort of conduct that senators in this place, senators of this country, should engage in. But again I’ll have to make the same point I made earlier: that Senator Babet—like Senator Thorpe—deserved to be here in this place to hear these arguments and potentially to defend himself. When I rose in the earlier debate, I actually was still of a mind to vote for the motions of censure of Senator Thorpe and Senator Babet, but, Madam President, with all respect, I couldn’t, in good conscience, do that, after the inept response from the Leader of the Government. She made no attempt to outline why this process has been brought on at this time—what the urgency of it is. My understanding is that those senators have been affected by flight delays this morning. My understanding is that they, I think, were informed only this morning that this was coming on. That’s just a complete lack of process. Perhaps, in response to my points this time, Senator Wong could outline exactly when Senators Thorpe and Babet were informed of the government’s intention and how much time they gave them to mount a proper defence. This is a serious action. It’s not a criminal court, of course, but it’s a serious process where basic rights of process should apply. People being accused of something as grievous as they are being this morning, clearly, in a free, fair and equal society, deserve the opportunity to mount a defence. They deserve adequate time to prepare that defence. They deserve a proper ability to hear all the points of view that are being put against them—the arguments that are being substantiated to take an action of this severity. But, as I said earlier, we’ve cheapened this whole process and made a mockery of the censure process. I hope this is not a precedent. I was one of the few who voted against former member for Dawson Mr George Christensen being censured a few years ago. I don’t believe we will look back on that kindly as a chamber. He had the temerity at the time to say masks don’t work. I know we were all panicked at the time—and we succumbed to that panic—but it was an absolutely absurd thing. Notwithstanding your views on masks today—you hardly see anyone wearing them anymore—to censure someone for that was absurd! Now we’re doing this. Where’s it going to end? We should keep the censure process for things of a grave, serious nature. We won’t do that if we all repeat this tawdry exercise we’ve engaged in this morning.