Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, given the importance of this debate and the fact that it is a conscience vote, I think it is very important that people are clear about the procedures. The worst of all possible worlds would be, of course, that someone exercised a vote in error because they were confused about the procedures. I understand very clearly that the effect of your ruling, with which I very strongly concur, is that if the second reading amendment moved by the member for Lindsay is passed by the House, that negatives the second reading and the bill before the House is at an end. If the second reading amendment moved by the member for Lindsay is not carried by the House, we will then proceed with the second reading of the bill and on to the third reading, which would include the consideration of the amendment proposed by Mr Laming, the member for Bowman.

Can I be very clear, though—and I think this is a matter of government business scheduling as much as it is a matter of anything else: is it being suggested that, should the member for Lindsay’s second reading amendment be carried, the House would then immediately move to consideration of the private member’s bill that the member for Lindsay has said she will make available to members? It is a very important matter. As you would know, Mr Speaker, we are here at 10 to four today and I have not seen that private member’s bill yet. I suspect very few members of this House have seen that private member’s bill. It is a matter that people would want to give the same consideration to that they have given to the bill before this House. It would be inappropriate, even by way of suspension of standing orders, which may or may not attract a conscience vote, to force the House to immediately deal with it unless it were very clear that that was going to be the course of action proposed and people could prepare themselves for that—particularly when I have heard no suggestion that the House will not rise at its normal time tomorrow, so the time available for the consideration of any subsequent private member’s bill by the member for Lindsay is dreadfully short indeed.

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