Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, a point of order: one of the most serious parts of the entire system of how this House operates is that we have representative government. That means that, unlike the systems in many other countries, the executive must be present when the House is sitting. The last thing we want to do is not have an MPI, but the reality is if there was a moment here when there was no member of the executive present in the House then it is your obligation to collapse the chamber, because the government did not turn up. Government backbenchers are not technically part of the government as far as the standing orders are concerned. Only members of the executive form the government. If we had a moment today when the House sat when no member of the executive of the Australian government was present then it is your personal responsibility in that chair to collapse the House, because we do not have a parliament if we don't have a government willing to show.

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