Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have received advice from the Chief Opposition Whip that he has nominated Ms Marino to be a member of the Selection Committee in place of himself.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask leave of the House to move a motion for the appointment of a member to serve on the Selection Committee.

Leave granted.

by leave—I move:

That Mr Entsch be discharged from the Selection Committee and that in his place Ms Marino be appointed a member of the committee.

In speaking to that motion, I find it absolutely extraordinary that the Chief Opposition Whip has been stood down from the Selection Committee. One of the things that we did when we established the new processes in the parliament was to agree that the Chief Government Whip and the Chief Opposition Whip would be the key people from the government and the opposition in determining the issues that came before the Selection Committee and that private members would be given increased rights as a result of the formation of that committee.

What we see now is that people are being replaced—indeed, we have the extraordinary proposition of the Chief Opposition Whip writing to the Speaker of the House of Representatives to replace himself as a member of the Selection Committee. We see members of the Selection Committee coming along to that committee with pre-typed resolutions having been given to them and not participating in the spirit in which that committee was established. It is of great concern, and this typifies the abuse that is occurring with regard to the Selection Committee, whereby it is being used to try to distort the outcomes of this parliament and try to defer the discussions of legislation and other business before this House. It is quite extraordinary that this has been occurring. Of course, the member who is replacing the Chief Opposition Whip was herself replaced during the previous sitting.

The fact is that the opposition are at war with themselves, not just in terms of leadership but when it comes down to minor committees of the parliament, including this committee. I commend the motion to the House.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In speaking to the motion, it probably would have been wise if the Leader of the House and the Chief Government Whip had found out why the Chief Opposition Whip has chosen to remove himself from the Selection Committee for one day: because his partner is going into hospital tomorrow and he is returning to North Queensland to be with her during a very serious operation. He is only discharging himself from the Selection Committee for the period in which he is away from the parliament. When he returns it is expected that he will be returning to the Selection Committee and that the member for Forrest will be removing herself from it. There is no provision in the standing orders for that to be done on a temporary basis, so it fell to the Chief Opposition Whip to remove himself for a period of 24 hours until he returns from North Queensland.

I am embarrassed for the Leader of the House. I am sure he was not aware of that. I would ask him to return to the dispatch box and apologise for what was a very low act—done, I assume, in ignorance. I am sure that if he had known that was the case he would never have made such an absurd contribution, which is now in the record of Hansard and which I have now had the opportunity to clarify.

Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am compelled to make a contribution given that the Manager of Opposition Business suggested that I should have done something to better inform myself on the reasons for the decision to discharge—albeit temporarily, as I understand it—the Chief Opposition Whip. I do not have forewarning of these matters. I found out about this matter fairly late in question time today.

In response to the contribution by the Manager of Opposition Business I will say that if the opposition are moving to do something, I think, very substantial—that is, to stand down the Chief Opposition Whip from the Selection Committee—they may have seen fit to consult the Chief Government Whip on the matter. If they had done so, on the basis of the Manager of Opposition Business's contribution, we would have been better informed.

My understanding is that the motion moved by the Leader of the House made no reference to the discharge or the appointment being temporary. So how was the Leader of the House to have known that the opposition were doing something so extraordinary as to remove the Chief Opposition Whip from the Selection Committee for one day? Why would you? Unless it is the intention of the opposition tomorrow to suddenly politicise the Selection Committee—something we have worked very hard not to have happen—what other reason would they have to move a procedural motion in this place to replace the Chief Opposition Whip for one day? It was absolutely reasonable for the Leader of the House to reflect on the issue given that we were given no explanation whatsoever and given that there was no reference in the motion to the issue being temporary.

I assume that the Leader of the House is now going to have to rise on Wednesday to discharge Ms Marino and reappoint the Chief Opposition Whip, and I ask members of the opposition, particularly the Manager of Opposition Business, who is very fond of interjecting, if that is the case because, if that is the case, that is rather extraordinary.

Question agreed to.