Senator PATTERSON (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs) (5:47 PM) — I was not meant to be involved in this debate. I came down to assist, as a parliamentary secretary, on the understanding that there would not be controversy in this bill. I came down to take it through for Senator Alston. I am appalled, frankly, at what has happened. Senator Bishop has got up here and dug a deep hole for himself, implicating one of the staff of the Senate—which I find appalling—who has done exactly what she was asked to do: circulate the amendments at the time that Senator Bishop spoke. That is entirely inappropriate. The amendments that we have before us are not the ones that were foreshadowed in Mr Smith's speech in the House of Representatives; Senator Bourne has the speech there, and I suppose that she will speak on it. But the thing is that I came into this chamber on the understanding—

Senator Mark Bishop —They have been withdrawn on the advice of the Clerk.

Senator PATTERSON —You have had your say, Senator Bishop.

The CHAIRMAN —Order! Address the chair, everybody, and cease interjecting.

Senator PATTERSON —I came down here, in good faith, on the understanding that this bill would be debated with no problems. Senator Bourne came into the chamber without the bill because she came in on the same understanding. We needed to check that the amendment being circulated was the one that had been circulated before—you cannot just assume that, especially with the Labor Party—and that is not the way business ought to be done here. The way business is done is that there is good faith. Amendments are shown to various members of the Senate—and I am sure there would be other people here who have an interest in this debate and who will not have seen the amendments—and we normally would give the clerks or the deputy clerks the amendments and ask for them to be circulated as soon as possible.

For you to get up here and say they were circulated far and wide because, in an email at 7.07 this morning, the deputy clerk was asked to circulate them when you were speaking, condemns you and supports Senator Alston's claim that it is a grubby little attempt to get a bit of a headline again today that you are trying to do something and the government again is opposing you. Senator Bishop, that might not necessarily be a reflection on you; it might be a reflection on your shadow minister. But I would ask you to ask him to lift his game to enable the work of this Senate to proceed in a more orderly manner—in the manner which we usually observe in this place: some courtesy in circulating amendments to people.

The CHAIRMAN —The question before the chair is that the Senate agrees to the amendment made by the House of Representatives.