Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—Coalition members put in a dissenting report to the committee's advisory report on the TLAB bill No. 2. We did so because coalition members were aggrieved at the fact that, despite schedule 1 alone representing an increase in tax revenues for this government of around $1 billion, the government has so poorly handled and scheduled the legislation for debate in this chamber, with over 100 bills still outstanding, that now on an initiative that will raise nearly $1 billion, the government deems that they do not have enough time for there to be an inquiry of the House of Representatives Economics Committee into the measures contained in the bill. One of the most fundamental aspects of the parliamentary committee process is to ensure scrutiny over executive government. We all remember the days when the Prime Minister stood up and heralded this being a new age of enlightenment: let the sunshine in, let there be transparency and scrutiny. Yet when it comes to a billion-dollar measure the government says, 'Sorry, we don't have enough time, there is not going to be any inquiry. Tough luck.' So coalition members issued a dissenting report because it is a travesty that there is not adequate parliamentary committee oversight of this executive government—100 per cent a consequence of nothing else other than this government's inability to direct and control its legislative agenda.

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