Page 1916 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 14 May 2013
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I ask leave to make a statement in relation to the paper.
Leave not granted.
Standing orders—suspension
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (10.39): I move:
That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent Mr Barr from making a statement in relation to the paper.
MR COE (Ginninderra) (10.39): We do not think this is good practice—to be tinkering with the usual routine of business in the way that the government are doing today. It has to be said that the reason they are doing this is that the daily program is pretty light on. For a government that went to the election saying that they are renewed, they have got fresh ideas, they have a got a fresh approach, they are moving forward, et cetera—today’s daily program would not suggest that at all.
In actual fact, it is pretty embarrassing that the very government that is here saying that we need another minister, we need more resources, is the government that presents this daily program. In actual fact, if these presentations of papers and statements were listed as per the presentation of papers after question time, you would probably get the whole daily program quite easily onto one page. It seems to me that the government has moved the presentation of papers and statements to before question time to disguise the fact that we would otherwise have been done by about 20 past 10 on a sitting day, which has to be pretty embarrassing for a government given that it is executive business.
Our decision to not grant leave this morning should not be a surprise to the government, given that an hour and a half ago I wrote to the manager of government business asking for an explanation as to why the presentation of papers and statements would be taking place this morning as opposed to this afternoon. That was sent at 9.14 am, and here we are, an hour and a half later, with still no response. So this should not be a surprise for the government. I think it is quite straightforward that I should be able to write to the manager of government business saying, “Will you please advise why papers and statements are being presented in the morning rather than after question time?” It is a straightforward issue. This is in addition to the fact that we got the post-cabinet sitting program after 8 o’clock last night. So there are a host of issues with this government.
Mr Corbell: After cabinet.
MR COE: Well, there were not many cars in the car park at 8 o’clock; let me tell you that. Unless you had cabinet off site somewhere, I do not think you were here at 8 o’clock, Simon.
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