Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a great privilege to be in the chamber here this morning with the member for Moncrieff and the member for McPherson. The three of us represent the Gold Coast, the sixth largest city in Australia. The Gold Coast is also home to more small to medium enterprises than any other commensurate city in the nation. I think we, the three members for the Gold Coast, speak as one voice when we stand appalled at what this government has done. I think we speak with one voice when we represent the largest concentration of small to medium business owners who will be impacted by this outrageous increase to a tax that has been ill-conceived, ill-thought through and rushed.

There is a maxim that forewarned is forearmed. I am a new member of parliament, in fact the only new Liberal for Queensland. Prior to parliament opening we actually had a parliamentarian school here. The 42 new members of parliament—34 Labor, seven Liberal and one National—met in this chamber to look at the mechanics of how parliament works.

The Government Whip came in. The new Opposition Whip also came in. The Government Whip spoke to us about how the mechanisms and mechanics of parliament work. He talked about the whips being fundamental in ensuring that the process of government is smooth. The whips ensure that lists of speakers are maintained and that there is enough time to look and debate bills. He said that the whips work cooperatively to ensure that parliament works. That concept of the whips working cooperatively to ensure that parliament works has stayed with me as I have watched and learnt the mechanisms of this House and how it functions. You can imagine my surprise when late last night a range of bills were put forward to be debated on the floor of the House the very next day. You can imagine my surprise when there was no consultation between the Government Whip and the Opposition Whip as to how best the bills were to be managed and on the time all parliamentarians had to look at the bills and to decide on an appropriate course of action.

I then went to the Bills Digest, which the Parliamentary Library produces. I have enormous respect for the researchers of the Parliamentary Library and their ability to look at a bill, dissect it and provide unbiased, non-partisan advice. I hold the Parliamentary Library in the highest regard. Yet Bills Digests were not available for these bills that were to be rushed through their second reading on the floor today and that we were only told about last night.

Appropriate shadow ministers had no opportunity to go through the Tax Laws Amendment (Luxury Car Tax) Bill 2008. Backbench committees had no opportunity to review. And yet when 42 new parliamentarians were here in this place, the Government Whip had the hide, the audacity and the blatant effrontery to look me and the member for Isaacs—who is suddenly engrossed in something else—in the face and say, ‘We the whips will work cooperatively to ensure that this place functions and works.’

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