Page 3730 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 27 August 2008
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control every aspect of what happens in this chamber. Today is private members’ day. There was a meeting yesterday at which notice was given of all of these things. The proper procedures were followed for listing items for today’s business. Instead of it being dealt with where it should be, in the admin and procedures committee, Mr Corbell stood up at 10.30 and said: “Well, it doesn’t matter what was agreed to. We’re going to re-arrange business because we don’t like it.”
The minister, the government and Dr Foskey are saying that the government can do what it likes with private members’ day and that it can shift whatever it likes. We have seen what this government have done over the last few years in terms of practices regarding some of their bills. We have seen bills passed, sometimes even in one day, but certainly within a couple of days, because they have had a majority. They have shown no regard for the proper procedures for the scrutiny of legislation.
We do have a program, Mr Speaker. We have been putting forward a program for a long time. This is a snapshot of some of our ideas for the future. I know that the government does not like it. If there was any clearer example that the government has run out of ideas, it is what has occurred today. Instead of allowing bills to be presented so that the public can look at them, the government say that motions are now more important, and they do not want even to countenance the ideas that are being put forward by the alternative government.
We understand why that is the case. We see how they have run out of ideas. We see very little of substance ever coming from their backbench on private members’ day. Mostly it is self-congratulatory, mostly it is fed to them by ministerial officers, speech and all, to praise the government. So instead of engaging in real debate in this place on private members’ day, what we have seen consistently from the Labor Party in this place is self-congratulation and the bringing forward of motions that, for the most part, have absolutely no substance and that will make absolutely no real difference to the people of Canberra.
When we put forward positive alternatives and positive ideas through our legislative program, this government shut it down. We will not be supporting the suspension of standing orders. It is once again an outrageous abuse of this government’s majority. The fact that Dr Foskey will be supporting them in this is instructive, perhaps, of how supportive she is of the government when it suits her. The moralising that we get from Dr Foskey from time to time should be seen for what it is.
Dr Foskey sees it as being in her own interests. We heard the gripe about MPIs. Now, MPIs are no good, apparently. Putting forward matters of public importance for debate is no longer a good thing because Dr Foskey feels that the odds are stacked against her. Well, private members’ day is very generous to the crossbench, given their representation. The fact that we use MPIs to raise matters of public importance that are important to our constituents is something that we do not shy away from and we are very happy to have those debates. But this move to suspend standing orders is another outrageous shutting down of private members’ day for the government’s own purposes.
Government members interjecting—
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