DOCUMENTS

Senator AYRES (New South Wales—Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science) (12:01): Here we are again in yet another abuse of the Senate's time and the Senate processes. I'm always happy to turn up in the Senate and talk for five minutes. It's not a burden for me, but it is a misuse of the Senate's procedures and processes to proceed in the way that Senator Bragg does.

What we've seen from Senator Bragg over the course of the last period is a pretty incoherent approach—an approach that's characterised by big noise in the National Press Club, a lack of solidarity amongst his colleagues— Senator Bragg: On a point of order on relevance, this explanation is supposed to be related to the order for the production of documents. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I've just been informed by the Clerk that there are no strict rules of relevance relating to statements from the minister.

Senator AYRES: What I'm doing is explaining that this requirement imposed by Senator Bragg on the Senate is unreasonable, and it is a requirement that is an abuse of the processes. It sits in a context where Senator Bragg's fervent opposition to doing anything at all about the housing performance of this country is completely overwhelming common sense and completely undermining the national interest.

Senator Bragg says that people who support the government's agenda in housing don't have brains. That's what he said. He said that Australians who have an alternative point of view to him don't have brains.

That is the kind of trap that the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation find themselves in. First of all, Senator Bragg characterised people in government who have an alternative view to him as communists not once, not twice, not three times but dozens of times. That is too silly for words.

Everybody knows that, but it's apparently what New South Wales moderates are forced to do in order to perform for their more right-wing masters—use florid language in order to characterise. Then it goes to Australians who support the government's efforts, the biggest pro-housing agenda in our history, Senator Bragg says—and presumably Senator Henderson supports this proposition—that Australians who support the government doing this don't have brains.

It's a lot like the One Nation senator yesterday who wanted to characterise those Australians who build renewable power stations in a pejorative and un-Australian kind of way. This is the problem. The problem for Senator Bragg is that at the outset of the government's housing agenda being established, which was delayed by the Senate, Senator Bragg could say, 'There are not many houses being built at the outset.' But the problem, Senator Bragg—through you, Deputy President—is that every day more houses are built.

We're not wandering around knocking them down. More houses are built, and your position becomes less and less sustainable. There have been 700,000 homes built since this government was elected—7,000 homes built and tens of thousands more on the way in the social and affordable housing area.

This is a government that is delivering real change and giving young Australians a crack at the housing market. That is a good thing. Despite Senator Bragg's abuse, we will continue.

(Time expired)