17^th June 2009

 

Today in the Senate, Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown failed to turn up for a crucial Senate vote causing a recommittal vote on the Fair Work Bill in the Senate Chamber.

 

The chickens have come home to roost for Senator Bob Brown who has a track record of gleefully and aggressively attacking other members of the Senate who have suffered the same misfortune.

 

As recently as the 18^th of March, Senator Brown went on the attack when Senator Scullion also failed to turn up for a vote and he claimed the opposition was in disarray.

 

“The National Party has been working very hard to bring about a fair outcome for those in the horticultural industry and bring about a position that we can have an affordable labour cost to be able to pay for the harvesting of food and vegetables. In my area of St George this is extremely prevalent with strong reliance on the horticultural industry, grapes, rockmelons, onions and other produce”, according to Senator Barnaby Joyce.

 

“Senator Brown should realise that as we all head back to the Chamber to do the job again because he failed to turn up that he is voting to make the price of food dearer making it harder for families to pay for produce”.

 

“If you can’t afford to harvest food you are going to have to import food which is not a good outcome for Australia”.

 

“Currently it’s been working quite well with no major industrial disputation so why risk upsetting the apple cart”.

 

“Last night Senator Brown was trying to blow up the help we are trying to give to the people of Caroona and the Haystack plains by driving a wedge into the communities there that we have pledged to support. Today in the Senate, Senator Brown blew himself up.”