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

It's not even a full fortnight; it's seven days. It's a government running and hiding.

So I simply put to the House: everyone will have different views on what we do on these additional sitting days, but we should turn up. It's a democratically elected parliament. Our electorates voted for us to be here and to represent them. The fact that the numbers on the floor have become inconvenient for the government doesn't change our democratically elected duty. I commend the amendment. For those people who are the reason that the government is suddenly wanting to hide from the parliament, the outcome of this amendment will rest on their capacity to make the case for their electorates and their capacity to use the fact that we are now in a hung parliament. I commend it to the House.

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