The enormous cost of Labor’s green waste now includes empty desks with a million dollar price tag and many millions of dollars in bad debts, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today. Department officials have revealed through Senate Estimates hearings the gross underutilisation of hugely costly office space, while further…
KIERAN GILBERT: It was meant to be the most secure building ever to be built in Canberra and it’s not off to a great start the new ASIO [Australian Security Intelligence Organisation] headquarters has been, well, the victim of a cyber hit… the reports last night on the ABC suggesting that Chinese hackers…
Senator BIRMINGHAM: (South Australia) (12:43): I rise to speak on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Bill 2013, which the government has just rushed into the Senate chamber. It is noteworthy that the Senate committee report on this bill was only concluded and tabled this morning, but this of course is symptomatic of a…
Senator BIRMINGHAM: (South Australia) (16:25): I thank the Greens for the opportunity to speak to this matter of public importance and note the fact that in doing so the Greens have highlighted another Labor broken promise. I am pleased that the Greens have done so. There are a number of ways in which they and their…
Senator BIRMINGHAM:(South Australia) (11:09): The Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2013 has been brought to the chamber unexpectedly today in a way that demonstrates the ongoing chaos that exists in the government's ranks, the ongoing chaos that exists in the government's legislative program and the chaos they are now extending to the treatment of this…