MARK DREYFUS MP

No institution is safe from this opposition. No convention is safe from this opposition. The courts are not safe from this opposition and this parliament is certainly not safe from this opposition. It is an opposition that does not believe in due process. It is an opposition that does not believe in fairness. It is an opposition that has no shame and is prepared to tear down any institution, tear down any convention, to get at its objective, which is power for this Leader of the Opposition. This is a Leader of the Opposition who will let no institution, no convention, stand in his way.

Australia is very well served by its judiciary. Removal from judicial office for misconduct has been very rare. There were a few colourful instances of removal of judges of superior courts in the 19th century but, since the adoption of our Constitution in 1900, no federal judges have been removed. In fact, only one judge has been dismissed from a superior court - that is, from a state supreme court - and that was Angelo Vasta. He was dismissed from the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1989.

In particular, it is going to ensure that the Electoral Commissioner can use automated systems to receive and process applications for postal votes.

This reform goes to the heart of two of Australia's most important policy objectives: assisting households and businesses to reduce their energy bills and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

We have rarely seen in Australia's political history a political opportunist of the character of the present Leader of the Opposition, who ought to be apologising to the Australian people for the deceit.

While the digital environment offers many opportunities for industries across the nation, it can also stump up challenges too. And for the copyright industries, this is no different.

It is a policy that will help the Australian economy adapt to change and to grow while leaving a cleaner and more prosperous future for our children and for their children. It is a policy that we on this side of the House are very proud of. It will be looked back on as a watershed in Australian economic history when we set this country on the path to the low-carbon economy that our people deserve. It is a plan which is central to Australia's economic competitiveness. In decades to come, low-pollution technologies will be crucial.

The Ombudsman has for many years proved the value of having an Ombudsman - having independence, review processes and somewhere that members of the public can go to make their complaints, and indeed having someone who has a general oversight role and a discretion to go and look at various matters on his own motion, without waiting to be charged with an inquiry, without waiting even for a complaint to be made.

I rise to honour the memory of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat whose courage, spirit and ingenuity saved the lives of over 100,000 Jews in Budapest during the Second World War.

The Australian Government's Clean Energy Future Plan represents the most significant environmental and economic reform in a generation.