Tuesday, 30 August 2022

Business of the house

Program

Debate resumed.

Ms STALEY (Ripon) (14:48): I return to the government business program. I was noting that on this occasion we will be opposing the government business program because we had requested consideration in detail for one bill and that has been denied. I also take the opportunity to note that we are at 10 to 3 on a Tuesday; normally this debate is held well before question time. It would have been more collegiate, and certainly faster, had we done it in an ordinary order, had this debate prior to question time and had that all finished away. Then the amendments to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Bill 2022 I think would have been dealt with in far less time than in fact we ended up taking, which was over an hour and a half.

It is just necessary to remind the government that they control the house of government in the Assembly but that does not mean that at every opportunity they should seek to ride roughshod over other members in this chamber. I would also note that the member for Shepparton—and she did this after I did today—and I both called for time to hold debate on a motion—just debate on a motion—to bring in general business. The member for Shepparton has attempted to move that motion many times, and I have also attempted to move it on behalf of the Liberals and Nationals many times, and leave is always denied. This is a government that just wants this chamber in particular to be out of step with other chambers in the commonwealth. Other chambers have a non-government business time where people can put motions and can in many cases introduce legislation—similar to what happens in the Council. The world does not end if non-government members get to have a voice, yet this government seems to believe that is the case.

Each week we have the government business program, and of course the core element of the government business program is that it comes as a pigeon pair with the guillotine on Thursday. So all of the bills that we are currently debating that will go on to the government business program will go to the guillotine on Thursday, whether their debate has been concluded, whether people want to go into consideration in detail—no matter what the circumstance is, we will go to the guillotine and vote on those bills. That is not normal practice in other parliaments. The House of Commons, for example, debates bills over many weeks. It is not normal to put them all to a guillotine. Yet every week this is what we get in this place as this government rams through its legislation in the minimum amount of time possible, and this is yet another example.

Mr FOWLES (Burwood) (14:51): The crocodile tears are gushing forth from those opposite today as they bleat about the amount of time being allocated for things and yet engage in the sort of political game playing and parliamentary shenanigans that frankly bore most of us to tears. It is an absurdity to be having this debate about the guillotine, for example, with the comparison drawn by the member for Ripon. The member for Ripon drew a parallel to the House of Commons, which I think at last call had about 450 members; I am unsurprised in those circumstances that it takes a little bit longer to get through some of the legislation.

They are crocodile tears because those opposite rarely fill the speaking opportunities that are allocated to them. The reality is that I and many of those on the government benches have frequently given our views on various bills in this place whilst the chamber was, frankly, empty but for the one shadow minister at the table. They have opportunities to speak on all these bills, and yet they do not—they do not bother. So this confected outrage, these crocodile tears, this tiresome repetition of ‘Oh, the government’s ramming through legislation’ even though they do not even take up the opportunity to debate that legislation—complaining about the guillotine when the guillotine, frankly, only serves to stop government members speaking on bills, not opposition members—is just bonkers. They do not even turn up, and if they do not even turn up, what right, frankly, do they have to say that it is outrageous that we guillotine debate if they are not even presenting for that debate?

The hypocrisy of those opposite today—they have just taken it up a massive level—the crocodile tears, the confected outrage, the silliness. It is just tedious in the extreme. It would benefit this house if they just cracked on and got on with the job. We appreciate that we are not going to agree on a whole bunch of things, and the opportunity is always there for those opposite to put their views about that. But you cannot on the one hand not take up the opportunities to put those views and on the other hand complain about not getting the opportunities to put those views. You simply have to pick a team. This hypocrisy is probably endemic in those opposite. It is certainly characteristic of those opposite that they would seek to run this, frankly, peculiar argument whilst at the same time not even bothering to show up for the various debates. And it would also appear they did not even bother to use the 260 hours between the rising of the other place and the commencement of business this week to swot up a bit about what amendments were coming back.

It is unusual for this debate to be occurring after question time. It is unusual that we are having this sort of highly obstructionist approach from those opposite. I guess it is informed by the politics of an impending election rather than any sort of actual principle here. Certainly the outrage is as flimsy as the policy platform for those opposite. I think the chamber would be better served by them taking an adult and constructive view on these matters rather than carrying on like the pork chops that they are fast becoming. I commend this government business program to the house and hope that it is rewarded by a strong majority vote shortly.

Mr ROWSWELL (Sandringham) (15:00): I must say, I have been called a number of things in my life but a pork chop is not one of them, and I object to the member for Burwood suggesting that I am a pork chop, which I most certainly am not.

Mr T Bull: He’s a lamb chop.

Mr ROWSWELL: Thank you, member for Gippsland East.

I also rise to speak on the government business program. I am but one voice in an 88-member Parliament, a Parliament where every single member of this place has been elected by their community to represent their community in this place, the very foundational institution of our democracy that this Parliament is. My view is that the member for Burwood has got it all wrong. We are opposing the government business program again this week because we have legitimately gone to the government asking for the government to go into consideration in detail on the Casino Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Implementation and Other Matters) Bill 2022. I reiterate the point that I made the last time I contributed to a government business program debate, and that is that on the two occasions that this house has considered a bill in detail, it has actually been a really good process.

Mr T Bull: It’s when it functions at its best.

Mr ROWSWELL: Exactly right—it is an example of the Parliament functioning at its absolute best. It is a doff of the cap; it is an example of the Westminster system of Parliament working at its absolute best. When ministers come into this place, they understand the legislation that they are bringing to this place for consideration and they understand the detail of the legislation that they are bringing to this place for consideration, which has the potential to be the law of this state. They are here. They are in this chamber. They are accountable to that through the questions that members of the opposition and members of the crossbench have the opportunity to ask. That is the process. That in this Parliament there have only been two occasions for that to take place absolutely baffles me; it really does baffle me. I understand that traditionally the upper house of a Parliament—in this case the Legislative Council, the other place—would ordinarily be known colloquially as a house of review. But that does not mean and that should not dismiss the fact that this house, that this chamber, the Legislative Assembly, also has the opportunity for that function, and it once again baffles me that this government is once again refusing the opposition that opportunity. Members of the opposition and members of the crossbench legitimately have a right to delve deep into questions relating to legislation that is brought before this chamber, and once again the government is denying us that opportunity.

This week we will shortly, after a readjustment of what we were expecting in the program today, reach the Early Childhood Legislation Amendment Bill 2022. The member for Croydon, my colleague, will lead that debate. I am looking forward to the member for Gippsland South’s contribution and him leading on the casino legislation amendment bill. The member for Malvern will lead on the Major Crime and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2022. And this, which I think will be of interest to a lot of people, the Monitoring of Places of Detention by the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (OPCAT) Bill 2022, will be a ripsnorter, I am sure.

I also failed the last time I contributed to the debate on the government business program to acknowledge the elevation of the member for Buninyong to the position of Government Whip. I would like to do that and to say that I look forward to working with the member for Buninyong in the time of this Parliament that we have remaining. What I have tried to do as Opposition Whip in the time that I have been in this role is work collaboratively and cooperatively for the benefit of the chamber, the smooth running of the chamber, and I fully intend to do so with the member for Buninyong in her newly elevated role. I congratulate her on that appointment. We will, however, be opposing this government business program for the pretty good reasons I outlined at the start of my contribution.

Mr CHEESEMAN (South Barwon) (15:00): It is with some pleasure that I take the opportunity this afternoon to rise to make my contribution to the government’s business program. I must say I have done so on quite a number of occasions through the course of this Parliament. For those that might be listening at home or on their TVs back in their offices, throughout the course of this particular Parliament it has been typical that we attempt as a government to pass through this chamber three to four pieces of legislation each and every sitting week. Indeed we have on more occasions than not very much done that.

It has been our custom and practice throughout the course of this term that we set in place a guillotine so that on a Thursday night at 5 o’clock we have the votes where necessary to ensure that legislation that was up for debate through the course of that sitting week makes its way from here at 5 o’clock or shortly thereafter to the Legislative Council (LC) to be debated in that chamber in the following sitting week. That has been our custom and practice. We have continued to do that, and I must say as a previous Government Whip more often than not the speakers lists—those making a contribution to the debate in those sitting weeks—have largely been filled by members of the government, usually with fairly low levels of contribution from the coalition parties to that debate. This has been the typical practice of this place, and I suspect that will be the circumstance in this particular week. This week is in so many ways reflective of what has happened in this chamber throughout the course of this Parliament.

In terms of this particular week we do have four pieces of legislation that we intend to put through this chamber, and we wish that legislation speedy passage through here and for it to make its way to the LC for the final sitting week of the year. I very much look forward to those pieces of legislation making their way to that chamber. In terms of the legislation that we have before us I particularly look forward to making my contribution on the Early Childhood Legislation Amendment Bill 2022, because I know so many of our communities have a large proportion of families. I think this legislation is particularly important to my community, and I have no doubt it is particularly important to most communities represented by Labor members of Parliament.

I look forward to hearing the many outstanding contributions this week by, I hope, a cross-section of representatives here in this chamber. I have no doubt that the Labor contributions, as always, will be on the money and reflective of the views of our community. We have had a little bit of a messy start to this sitting week, not through any action of the government but indeed through games being played by the coalition.

Mr McCURDY (Ovens Valley) (15:05): I rise to make a brief contribution on the government business program. I heard the member opposite say it is no fault of the government that we are here at 3 o’clock this afternoon and still have not got to discuss the government business program. The bullying and harassment that they have tried to do to this chamber is absolutely disgraceful. If they would just communicate and negotiate rather than trying to bulldoze their way through, they would find we would not be here at 5 past 3 on a Tuesday still trying to get on with the government business program. As you have heard from the Manager of Opposition Business, we are opposing this government business program because of the lack of respect for wanting to go into consideration in detail.

We have four bills this week. Obviously there is the Early Childhood Legislation Amendment Bill 2022. The member for Lowan will lead The Nationals in that, and who better to do that than someone with a couple of fine kids; she will understand early childhood like nobody else in this chamber. The Casino Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Implementation and Other Matters) Bill 2022 will be led by the member for Gippsland South. The Monitoring of Places of Detention by the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (OPCAT) Bill 2022 will also be discussed, and of course the member for Gippsland East will bring home the money on the Major Crime and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2022. As I say, there are four bills on this agenda, and I certainly look forward to contributing on the casino legislation amendment. As somebody on the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation board I am very passionate about making sure that the casino and gambling in Victoria are well scrutinised and in great shape.

It is disappointing, again, that the government is not going into consideration in detail. I really thought that that might have been a significant step forward for us in the second-last sitting of this term as we nearly end the 59th Parliament. The new Leader of the House, who is an outstanding Leader of the House—certainly fairer, more reasonable and more understanding than the previous one—I thought might have had some more negotiation outcomes with our side. But anyway, it appears that that is not the case. With those brief comments, I will also be opposing the business program.

House divided on motion:

Motion agreed to.