Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

To continue there: the fact is that we have senators here who are being restricted, by a motion of this place, in their ability to ask questions—not only today but in an ongoing sense—including restricting Mondays to just two questions for government senators. So for everyone who turns up to work here and works hard here—not allowed anything more than two questions on a Monday and three on any other sitting day whilst everyone else is afforded the opportunity to ask a question. So we raise a legitimate point—raised by Senator Mulholland and Senator Smith.

You've had your 15 questions. We're moving into the next stage. They have every right to stand up and seek leave, just as you have a right to deny it, as you will continue to do, it seems, this afternoon. But we have a right for our senators to ask questions as well, and we will continue to argue for that through question time. We did not agree to and did not support the motion yesterday. Some come in here and talk about convention. Well, convention was ripped up yesterday. That's what happened. This chamber relies on a level of cooperation because it is a minority chamber. No-one has the numbers. It relies on cooperation; for a large part it does. Most people don't see those levels of cooperation, because it is done collegiately, just as it is done in committee systems. But yesterday that changed. And, of course, we have every right to defend our members, members of the government, and their right to ask questions through question time, which is what they're seeking to do. Moving a suspension, if that's the only way that that will be allowed—