Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the days of meeting of the Senate for 2016 be as follows:

Autumn sittings:

Tuesday, 2 February to Thursday, 4 February

Monday, 22 February to Thursday, 25 February

Monday, 29 February to Thursday, 3 March

Tuesday, 15 March to Thursday, 17 March

Budget sittings:

Tuesday, 10 May to Thursday, 12 May

Winter sittings:

Monday, 20 June to Thursday, 23 June

Monday, 27 June to Thursday, 30 June

Spring sittings:

Tuesday, 23 August to Thursday, 25 August

Monday, 29 August to Thursday, 1 September

Monday, 19 September to Thursday, 22 September

Monday, 10 October to Thursday, 13 October

Spring sittings (2):

Monday, 7 November to Thursday, 10 November

Monday, 21 November to Thursday, 24 November

Monday, 28 November to Thursday, 1 December.

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move an amendment to government business notice of motion No. 1, moved by the Minister for Communications, Senator Fifield.

Leave granted.

I move:

Omit all words from "Monday, 27 June to Spring sittings (2)" inclusive and substitute:

"Spring sittings:

Monday, 8 August to Thursday, 11 August

Monday, 15 August to Thursday, 18 August

Monday, 5 September to Thursday, 8 September

Monday, 12 September to Thursday, 15 September

Spring sittings (2)

Monday, 24 October to Thursday, 27 October".

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This amendment is similar to the one that we moved last year about the 2015 sitting calendar. These sittings coincide with school holidays on three occasions—in particular, in July for Queensland, Victoria and the Northern Territory. For Queensland and Victoria, they then coincide with the school holidays in September as well. So senators who have young families, with children at school, twice will lose out on being able to spend time with their children during the school holidays. It is quite easy for us to have a calendar that does exclude sitting days on school holidays. We are supposed to be family friendly. It is very hard for us to be family friendly in this Senate. One of the ways we can be is by not calling sitting days on school holidays. (Time expired)

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Again, as I said in this place when a similar motion was moved last time, the Labor Party is not supporting the amendment, though we do understand the concerns raised by Senator Siewert. We say again that these things should be discussed beforehand so that we have the open discussion about the family-friendly processes. But it has been our position that the government of the day has the right to determine the sitting pattern. That is the convention we follow. In making that statement, I say that we should have certainty around the sitting hours and, should there be any requests for extended hours or changes to that, it would only be under exceptional circumstances and there would need to be consideration of that at the time. On that basis, we are not supporting the Greens amendment and we are living by the longstanding convention of putting the onus on the government of the day to set the pattern.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I appreciate the opposition indicating that they support the convention that the government of the day should determine the sitting schedule. Obviously this is a matter which is determined by both chambers, and it makes sense that both chambers have a common sitting pattern. It is not always possible, given that there are multiple considerations in determining a sitting pattern, to see that school holidays never coincide with sittings of the parliament. In relation to Senator Moore's comments about whether next year additional hours or days would be granted by the chamber: whether the government requests the chamber to do so will, to a large extent, be a function of whether the various groupings in this chamber facilitate quick passage of legislation. (Time expired)

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short comment.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just wanted to add my support for the amendment but also point out very clearly that the Australian Greens did follow the protocol. We wrote to the government, asking that they did not schedule or suggest that this parliament sits during school holidays, because of the problems it created last year. At the end of last year, when we were discussing this year's calendar, there was quite a lot of comment in this place about how we would not again see the mistake of scheduling sitting weeks during school holidays. Twelve months on, it is as if those words were either (a) forgotten or (b) hollow in the first place. Frankly, I get a bit sick and tired of hearing the lip-service to how we should be encouraging more women into this parliament, when in fact very practical considerations could be made which would make it a much more workable place to be for women. I think it is appalling— (Time expired)

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the amendment moved by Senator Siewert be agreed to.

Question negatived.

The question now is that the motion moved by Senator Fifield be agreed to.

Original question agreed to.