Senator CHRIS EVANS (Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (11:08 AM) —by leave—I just want to raise the issue of where we are going in the parliament today. We are in danger of this bill, on which we are all in furious agreement, being debated for longer than the Welfare to Work or antiterrorism bills. Given the fact that the government needed the time and insisted on guillotining those bills through, it seems very strange that today we are about to have our fourth government speaker, with maybe others lining up, to discuss a bill that everyone is going to vote for and on which we agreed we would pass last night but the government did not bring it on. I think this is getting to high farce. I accept the government may have wanted time to beat up on Barnaby or to convince Senator Fielding, but I really think we owe the staff and the other senators the courtesy of knowing what is going on. The debate on this bill has just been filibustered by the government. This is the government that has had to use the gag and the guillotine all week to save time. Although the speeches have been excellent—Senator Eggleston this is, of course, no reflection on the speeches—they have not exactly been on the topic. I asked the Manager of Government Business earlier in the day if he could let us know by 11 o’clock at the latest what is going on. He has not got back to us. It does seem to me that the Senate is being filibustered for no good reason.

The next three bills on the list are all noncontroversial ones that we also agreed to pass yesterday. We were prepared to sit late yesterday to pass them to save the expense of the parliament sitting today and the inconvenience to senators and staff. As I said, this is just being talked out for the sake of filling up time. The government ought to indicate whether the VSU legislation is coming or not. If it is not, we ought to get on with it, finish the government business and everyone should be allowed to go home. If it is, then they ought to bring it on. Quite frankly, this is, again, an abuse of the processes of the Senate. If the government is going to keep filling up the speakers list on a bill which is going to be carried, and would have been carried an hour ago if it were not for government speakers, then it is turning into a farce.

I just want to put on record our concern about the process. I would appreciate the government informing the Senate of what is occurring. The Prime Minister is on national radio saying the VSU legislation will not come on this year, but it seems the Senate has been asked to sit and government speakers have been asked to filibuster despite the fact that the Prime Minister is out there saying that the VSU legislation is not coming on. I would appreciate the government informing the Senate of its plans for the rest of the day and why it is seeking to filibuster on a minor bill. It really stands in stark contrast to the events of earlier in the week when major bills were gagged and guillotined without sufficient time, yet a bill on which we are all in furious agreement is now going to take almost as long. It is just getting to the ridiculous stage, so I would appreciate it if the Manager of Government Business could do the Senate, staff and everyone connected with the parliament the courtesy of informing us of what is going to occur today. That will allow everyone to plan their lives and get on with things and would save the embarrassment of senators, like Senator McGauran, having to grab together some notes to speak on the bill, which I am sure have been organised at short notice. Although I am sure he is very interested in higher education issues, I really think we ought to get on with it.