This is leaving the nation's future to chance. Who knows how Senators Xenophon, Madigan and Lazarus informed themselves about the China free trade deal. Maybe the overblown TV ads from unions and discussions with Labor and the Greens played a role. And perhaps these protectionist senators were always going to oppose the deal. But it's also possible discussions with ministers and senior public servants, or some horse‑trading on other issues, could have brought some of them around. Now these senators have stated a public position it is much harder, and potentially impossible, to get them to reverse their position.

Is this blinkered approach to the crossbench a clever attempt by the Coalition to ensure the China free trade deal gets voted down, so they can make it an election issue? Not likely. Given the benefits of the deal and the costs of delay, even the Coalition wouldn't be as irresponsible as this.

The answer seems to be that too many people in the Coalition have an IQ bigger than their EQ. Once they come up with a responsible plan, whether it's their first budget or the China free trade deal, they light up their cigars and say "job done".

But the job isn't done. Our system of government means a government's ideas don't become law unless both the House of Representatives and the Senate agree. And since Federation, the government of the day has rarely had control of the Senate, regardless of the voting system used to elect senators. This means that it's always been – and always will be – the role of an Australian Government to convince enough senators that its ideas warrant support.

I know some in the Coalition have a born-to-rule mentality, feeling it's beneath them to persuade others of the value of their ideas when they have the numbers to form government. And some are unfamiliar with the Senate, preferring to put their head in the sand about its existence. Either way, this is no way to run a government.