House debates

Monday, 24 August 2020

Statements on Indulgence

COVID-19: Parliamentary Procedure

10:01 am

Photo of Christian PorterChristian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | | Hansard source

To commence with, for the information for honourable members, I would like to present the Agreement for Members to Contribute Remotely to Parliamentary Proceedings, which has been made pursuant to the resolution adopted by the House on 23 March 2020.

I'd like to say a few brief words with respect to that. Obviously this is the agreement that has been made between me and the Manager of Opposition Business in relation to allowing members to contribute remotely to parliamentary proceedings. I'd like to thank the Manager of Opposition Business for his consultation and cooperation in the joint design of this agreement, and you, Mr Speaker, for your assistance.

Members will be aware that the agreement will facilitate members contributing remotely via the official parliamentary video system. It's probably useful to clarify here, for the benefit of all members, that where we talk about 'contribution to debate' that includes members' statements, discussions on matters of public importance, statements made by leave and ministerial statements. These will be treated as though they are contributions to the debate, for the purposes of the official parliamentary video facility referred to in the agreement. I might also just note that the words that are used in the agreement, which, from recollection, are, 'essentially impossible, unreasonably impracticable, or give rise to an unreasonable risk for the member', are meant to delineate a distinction between those who are applying to use the facility—between people who have been inconvenienced, indeed, even seriously inconvenienced, and those who can properly apply to use the facilities, which are those who, in all of the circumstances, have found it virtually impossible or simply impractical for whatever reason to attend in person. I'm sure it will work. It will be an innovation that will benefit the House during this very unusual period.

Photo of Tony SmithTony Smith (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the House. The Manager of Opposition Business?

10:03 am

Photo of Mr Tony BurkeMr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | | Hansard source

I will say more when we get to the resolution, but the agreement, which has been put in place, has been done with respect to the sessional order, which we carried quite some weeks ago. When we carried it, it referred to the fact that it would be possible for the House to meet in a different manner and form, if circumstances occurred. When we put that in, it was described at the time by one of us—it may have been me—as a break-glass option, which we hoped to never use. Circumstances eventuated, which I will refer to later but are not appropriate to go to during a statement on indulgence, which caused us to hit that break-glass option.

It's important to note that what the Leader of the House and I have agreed on is not a virtual parliament. The parliament is meeting and it is meeting here. There has been capacity for a long time for members' speeches, when members weren't able to be here, to be tabled and effectively incorporated into the Hansard. What we're allowing is effectively an extension of that process where, when members want to make a contribution to a debate or discussion in different ways, they're able to do so via video link. But for all other purposes you have to be here. If you want to move something you have to be here. If you want to vote you have to be here. If you want to raise a matter of public importance or support a matter of public importance when the call for support goes up, standing up in your electorate office doesn't count. You have to physically be here.

So the parliament is not a virtual parliament. The parliament is still here, in Parliament House in Canberra. But, where members of parliament, through no fault of their own, have found themselves in circumstances where they simply can't be here because of COVID-19, we've allowed the video link to make sure that they can contribute—importantly, not for their convenience but for their electorates, to make sure the voices of their electorates are heard here inside the parliament.