Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That—

(1) On Tuesday, 27 November, Wednesday, 28 November, and Thursday, 29 November 2012, any proposal pursuant to standing order 75 shall not be proceeded with.

(2) On Tuesday, 27 November 2012:

  (a) the hours of meeting shall be 12.30 pm to 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm to adjournment;

  (b) the routine of business from not later than 7.30 pm to 8.15 pm shall be consideration of general business order of the day no. 83 (Low Aromatic Fuel Bill 2012);

  (c) the bill listed in paragraph (b) be considered under a limitation of time, and that the time allotted be as follows:

from 7.30 pm to 7.45 pm—second reading from 7.45 pm to 8.15 pm—all remaining stages, and this paragraph shall operate as a limitation of debate under standing order 142;

  (d) the routine of business from not later than 4 pm to 6.30 pm and 8.30 pm to 10 pm shall be government business only; and

  (e) the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall be proposed at 10 pm.

(3) On Wednesday, 28 November 2012, the consideration of government documents shall not be proceeded with.

(4) On Thursday, 29 November 2012:

  (a) the hours of meeting shall be 9.30 am to 7.10 pm;

  (b) divisions may take place after 4.30 pm;

  (c) consideration of general business and committee reports, government responses and Auditor-General's reports under standing order 62(1) and (2) shall not be proceeded with;

  (d) the routine of business from not later than 12.45 pm to 2 pm and from not later than 3.45 pm shall be government business only; and

  (e) the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall be proposed at 6.30 pm.

I move this motion in relation to hours but should highlight that this motion sits within a series of procedural motions to allow the Senate additional sitting time to consider a range of government legislation before the Senate rises for 2012. This series of motions is very similar to the motions I moved at the same time last week.

Like my comments to the motions last week, I again begin my few remarks in support of this motion by acknowledging that all senators have been remarkably cooperative—in fact in the last week perhaps more so—in allowing the Senate to consider government legislation effectively and efficiently. Through informal agreements last week the Senate debated 18 packages of legislation. This allowed many senators to speak on legislation with debate not excessively curtailed nor interrupted. I understand that this could not have occurred without the cooperation of all parties and Senator Xenophon, and I acknowledge and thank senators for this corporation.

I will not be talking on the three government motions on exemptions. The reasons for the exempting of the bills identified in the motions have been circulated; there is little I can add to these reasons and I believe that by keeping my speaking time as brief as possible these procedural motions will allow more productive time on debate of the bills themselves.

This first motion allows additional time for the Senate for the three remaining sitting days. The motion opens the opportunity for the Senate to be adaptable, as it was last week, in its approach to debating legislation for the remainder of this week. The government's aim in moving the motion is to allow additional time for debate of the government's legislation and for the sittings to be finalised by Thursday evening. Some time is allowed for the business of the Senate and for private senators bills to be debated. The timings are within the scope of the sitting pattern to minimise any disruption to arrangements senators may have made later this week. I am very aware that the end of the year usually requires senators to be finalising parliamentary duties with constituents and committees before Christmas.

I anticipate that the opposition will claim that motions such as these would not be necessary if the government scheduled more sitting days in a year and that this motion today is just a prelude to a time management motion to be moved later in the week, similar to arguments presented last week. But the reality is that it is quite difficult to schedule additional sitting days when senators are also required to attend to an increasingly heavy committee workload. It is also the case that additional regular sitting days would not guarantee significant additional time on government legislation—a matter which we are considering separately. In some respects this is an unresolved issue for the Senate, and one which I hope that the Procedure Committee may be able to pursue in the new year.

I also remind the Senate that debate of government legislation usually dominates Senate time at the end of sittings. This is not the first motion to extend debate time on government legislation at the end of sittings, and it is unlikely to be the last. As to the possibility of a time management motion for the last few sitting days, I would like to put on the record that I am open to one. For these last few days in 2012, I believe that such a motion might be the most effective way for the Senate to manage its time. It would set out clearly the chamber's expectation for debate on legislation; senators would understand the time available on the remainder of the government legislation program; and parties, and Senator Xenophon, would be able to manage the debate time so that decisions on bills could be placed on the record in available time frames.

I am prepared to take on board input from all parties and Senator Xenophon on a time management motion as I think we can probably accommodate most requirements in the next two sitting days, either through a motion or indeed by agreement. However, for the moment a time management motion is not before the chamber. With continued goodwill we can progress the government's legislative program through informal arrangements. This motion provides the chamber further scope to do just that. I commend the motion to the chamber.