Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That, in relation to proceedings on the Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill 2013 [No. 2], so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the following from occurring:

(1) at the conclusion of the second reading debate, not including a Minister speaking in reply, or 75 minutes after the commencement of the second reading debate, whichever is the earlier, a Minister being called to sum up the second reading debate and then without delay the immediate question before the House to be put, then any question or questions necessary to complete the second reading stage of the Bill to be put;

(2) if the second reading has been agreed to the Bill then being taken as a whole during consideration in detail for a period not exceeding 20 minutes at which time any questions necessary to complete the remaining stages of the bill being put without further debate or delay; and

(3) any variation to this arrangement to be made only by a motion moved by a Minister.

The opposition insists on calling the last motion, the debate management motion, the gag. I should explain to them that we now call it the 'debate management motion'—a term which I invented, if I dare take the credit for it. We are debating a debate management motion on the Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill 2013 for the same reasons we had for voting on the carbon tax, which is that we have already passed these bills through the House of Representatives. They have been rejected by the Senate and the government is insisting on the abolition of the Minerals Resource Rent Tax. We want to have less tax; Labor wants more tax. Labor wants the carbon tax to rise; we want the carbon tax to be abolished. Therefore, on Thursday we will give the House of Representatives the opportunity to debate the Minerals Resource Rent Tax for a period of time. Knowing that Labor is unlikely to change its position—certainly the government will not—there will be no point in delaying the House for days of debate. We have already had that debate and therefore I recommend this debate management motion to the House.

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