Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the following from occurring today:

(1) in the House:

(a) standing order 33 (limit on business after normal time of adjournment) being suspended for the sitting; and

(b) at 8 pm, notwithstanding standing order 31, the adjournment debate being interrupted and government business having priority until:

(i) business concludes, if earlier than 10 pm; or

(ii) 10 pm; or

(iii) a later time specified by a Minister prior to 10 pm;   .at which point, the debate being adjourned and the House immediately adjourning until Wednesday, 5 November at 9 am;

(2) today in the Federation Chamber, government business being given priority until the Federation Chamber adjourns at approximately 9.30 pm;

(3) the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 being debated in cognate with government business orders of the day Nos. 5 to 10; and

(4) any variation to this arrangement being made only on a motion moved by a Minister.

To explain to the House what all of that procedure means, firstly, the 6.30 rule still applies, so after 6.30 pm people who are not expecting to speak or not rostered on in the House certainly won't be required for divisions or for quorum calls after 6.30 pm.

Secondly, in this House, if you are rostered to speak on the adjournment debate, the adjournment speeches will still go ahead, but at 8 pm the House will not adjourn. The House will return to government business and continue on government business until 10 pm. The only circumstance where a minister might ask for it to go longer than 10 pm is if we've got a final speaker and they've got a few minutes left in their speech. Other than that, it would be a 10 pm cut-off, unless we end up with fewer speakers.

Thirdly, the Federation Chamber would also be continuing until 9.30 pm tonight, and the final thing is, instead of debating the seven bills separately, we would have the cognate debate that was circulated earlier today with respect to the environment legislation.

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