Wednesday, 11 May 2022
Business of the house
Program
Business of the house
Program
That, under standing order 94(2), the orders of the day, government business, relating to the following bills be considered and completed by 5.00 pm on Thursday, 12 May 2022:
Agriculture Legislation Amendment Bill 2022
Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2022
Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Bill 2022.
I am going to only make a briefish contribution on this motion, because it is with some optimism that this motion before the house will be supported unanimously, and I welcome back to the chair the previous Manager of Opposition Business, the—
A member interjected.
Ms ALLAN: Oh, it does. That is not to say I am not fond of the current incumbent in that role, and I genuinely wish her well with her recovery, but it is great to put the band back together and have the member for Rowville and me in these roles once again. Because you know what? We get stuff done. We can certainly get some business done over the course of a sitting week. And that has now further guaranteed the erosion of the status of the member for Rowville amongst his colleagues—so my apologies to him in advance. I may also be doing my dash in getting this motion through unanimously, so I will pull up on that point.
Just a reminder for colleagues in the house that this sitting week the Agriculture Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 that is on the program for this week, for the guillotine for this week, actually commenced last Tuesday, on budget day. We had many speakers on that bill, so it is unlikely we will come back to that bill over the course of today and tomorrow, which leaves us considerable time to consider the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Bill 2022 and the Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2022, noting of course that today started with those two really lovely condolence motions that I think did great credit and recognition to two men from different sides of politics. Two very different life experiences, but the condolence motions reflected very well their upbringing and their enormous contributions to the state of Victoria. That has truncated a little, though, the time that is available to us to consider these bills. On that front and in order to be able to progress to the consideration of bills and other matters before the house, I am pleased to commend the motion to the house.
Mr WELLS (Rowville) (12:26): The opposition will not be opposing the government business program, and the reason for that is there has been good work by the Manager of Opposition Business. As the Leader of the House has said, there is the Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 and the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Bill 2022. The Agriculture Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 was done in bulk last week, so we have two bills. Today we had the condolences. We will have constituency questions after question time, then statements by members and then it is the opposition’s matter of public importance. Tomorrow we will start with government business and the condolence for the Mildura police officer. My understanding that the Minister for Police, the opposition spokesman for police and the member for Mildura will speak on that as a by-leave motion. We are expecting that the Leader of the Opposition will then lead off with the opposition’s budget reply. It is my understanding that we will then go back to the other two pieces of legislation. Although today is not a normal, run-of-the-mill sitting day for a Wednesday, because of the two condolence motions, we are satisfied that it is in order that we not oppose the government business program for this week.
Mr PEARSON (Essendon—Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Regulatory Reform, Minister for Government Services, Minister for Creative Industries) (12:27): I am delighted to make a contribution on the government business program, and it is great to see the member for Rowville—the father of the house—being subbed in off the bench to replace the member for Ripon to make a very thoughtful, measured and considered contribution.
I think this will be an important week for this house. This institution is the people’s institution, and it reflects the values of the community which it serves. Earlier today we heard some very good contributions from both sides of the house about two very good members of this place who served this house with distinction over successive governments. And, as the member for Rowville has indicated, tomorrow the house will reflect on a life tragically lost—that of a serving officer of Victoria Police who tragically lost her life in Mildura recently. We are very fortunate as a community and as a society to have this institution to reflect the contributions that past members have made but to also reflect the contributions that members in our society and community have made more broadly. It is a good opportunity for members to come together and to acknowledge that fact.
As a government, I am really pleased and delighted that we have got a full legislative agenda. We are not wasting a day. Government is an absolute gift. Every day spent on the Treasury bench is a very, very great honour, and it is a privilege to serve. As a government, we are not wasting a day. We are getting on with it, and the fact that we have got a full legislative program this week, albeit it is a truncated week because we had budget day last Tuesday, gives us all a great sense of confidence and hope and optimism as we look forward, as we get out the back of this pandemic, to gaze across the back years of this decade and realise that we have just been given such a fantastic opportunity to serve our communities, to work really hard, to take these responsibilities incredibly seriously and to not waste a day. This government business program reflects that, and I think it reflects Parliament at its best.
Mr D O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (12:30): There is so much love in the room. I am feeling it with the member for Rowville back in the chair, back with his old sparring partner, the Leader of the House. It is just lovely. Genuinely, as the minister who just spoke, the member for Essendon, reflected on—I think what he said was true—there were some wonderful contributions this morning on the condolence motions. I actually would like to pay particular credit to the Minister for Corrections, when she spoke on Bunna Walsh. It evoked a time that is long gone I think in Victoria and indeed Australia, the time of the men on the wharves, and it was interesting to hear her, the member for Albert Park and the member for Richmond as well reflecting on those days. And yes, they were a good reflection on the chamber, those condolence motions.
I will not speak in too much detail. We have the Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 and the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Bill 2022 to come. We also have the motion recognising the tragic loss of another Victoria Police officer in Mildura, which we will do tomorrow; and I look forward to the Leader of the Opposition’s budget reply speech almost as much as I look forward to Public Accounts and Estimates Committee hearings starting on Friday. I am very excited about it, and I am sure Hansard will pick up the excitement in my voice.
Mr Pearson: It is the first time the National Party has actually had the deputy chair.
Mr D O’BRIEN: No. Second go. I have already had a go.
Mr Pearson: No. You are the first deputy chair of the National Party.
The SPEAKER: Order! Through the Chair.
Mr D O’BRIEN: Through the Chair. Sorry. Also on the agenda is the Agriculture Legislation Amendment Bill 2022, which I spoke on last week. Some members will be aware of the various theories going around about this legislation. I almost would like to have another go at it given the frankly wacko conspiracy theories that are being put out there about this legislation, picked up by none other than a backbench One Nation MP from Queensland, who apparently knows more about this legislation than we do here in Victoria. But anyway, unfortunately I have already had my go on that bill.
Ms Allan: Are you being critical of George Christensen? That is a bit rough.
Mr D O’BRIEN: No. Anyway, it is otherwise a busy program for the next few days, so I shall leave my contribution at that.
Mr CHEESEMAN (South Barwon) (12:32): I very much with pleasure rise to speak on the government business program. We of course have got today two bills that the government will be looking to progress through this chamber through the course of this week: the Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 and the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Bill 2022, and I look forward to those two bills passing through this chamber.
I also this morning had the great opportunity, as did all members of this chamber, to listen to two fantastic condolence motions on two people who made an amazing contribution to our parliamentary democracy and an amazing contribution to their local communities. Of course tomorrow we will have an opportunity to collectively grieve about the tragic passing of a police officer serving the Mildura community, and I am sure we will come together again as a chamber and as a Parliament to show our appreciation to that serving officer, who so tragically lost her life, and to pay our respects to her and to acknowledge her family in that journey.
Tomorrow we will have the opportunity to hear the Leader of the Opposition respond to the fantastic, strong Labor budget that the Treasurer delivered just last week. I have had the opportunity, of course, to be out in my community to sell the budget, and I look forward to hearing from the Leader of the Opposition as he gives his budget reply to that fantastically strong Labor budget. I wish the two bills and the condolences all the success that they need this week and look forward to a successful sitting week.
Motion agreed to.