Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

I rise briefly to put on record that the opposition supports the motion moved by the Leader of the House. I want to thank him for his collaborative approach on this issue. As the pandemic showed us, working from home is not necessarily an obstacle to productivity. Workplaces around our nation—indeed, around the world—have adapted to this paradigm shift, and the parliament should be prepared to, too.

Remote participation via video facility in the workings of the parliament is an innovation that began under the previous parliament, under the Morrison government, as we collectively responded to restrictions imposed by COVID-19. Before the August sittings of the parliament in 2020, the then Leader of the House developed the Agreement for Members to Contribute Remotely to Parliamentary Proceedings in close consultation with the then Manager of Opposition Business, now the Leader of the House. I'm pleased to see this bipartisan approach continuing in this parliament with respect to remote participation.

I think this change will allow parliamentarians in the narrow and defined circumstances the Leader of the House has outlined to more effectively represent their electorates, even in circumstances where they're unable to come to Canberra. I think the limitation to members who have formally received leave is an effective mechanism, so that this targets members in an appropriate category to use this practice to give effect to their responsibilities to represent their electorate at a time when they may be dealing with other responsibilities such as family responsibilities or may have other reasons why they have needed to obtain leave from the parliament.

The coalition supports sensible efforts to make this parliament more family friendly. We are very alive to the matters raised in the Jenkins report, Set the standard, which outlined ways to improve workplace culture in the parliament. I conclude by confirming the opposition supports this motion.

Question agreed to.

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