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

I was considering making these points in a suspension of standing orders immediately after this debate on the Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No. 5) Bill 2018, but I think it will suit the convenience of the House for me to make these comments now. I thought I'd take the opportunity after the Assistant Treasurer dealt with a number of the bills that have been passed in succession right now.

No-one should be in any doubt as to what's happening in the House this afternoon. After being defeated on the floor of the House of Representatives at the beginning of last week, the government has now decided that wherever there is a bill and wherever there is a vote where they know they will not command a majority in the House, they will miraculously change their position and vote for it. Today, we're having the royal commission vote, the access to justice vote and the penalties vote. Of course, the vote that we won't have at all is the 'big stick' legislation. But in each of these votes we're having today, no-one should see it as anything other than a strategy, because at no point has the government said what changed over the weekend. At no point has the government said what changed between their opposition last week on these issues and their sudden, miraculous and fulsome support for them today.

An incident having occurred in the chamber—

An honourable member: You're out of power!

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