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

Madam Deputy Speaker, on indulgence, for the benefit of members I wish to update the House about likely timings for this afternoon. The Senate has just carried a resolution, with the support of the government and the opposition, that it will be dealing with three further items of business this afternoon. It is indeterminate what the outcome of those will be, but certainly the last item is the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory. That legislation has the support of the government and the opposition. It is likely that that will have amendments and therefore will return to the House. Therefore, it is likely that we will need to sit later this evening. It would be the government's intention to have a suspension, when we work out what the likely times will be, and to encourage the Senate to deal with these issues as expeditiously as possible. But I will consult with the Manager of Opposition Business. In terms of people's plane bookings et cetera, I felt it appropriate to inform members at the earliest possible opportunity that they are likely to be sitting past 5 pm. I will be moving a motion, which is on the Notice Paper, to suspend standing orders 31 and 33 to allow that to be possible. I thank the House.