Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Indeed, the Independents have moved an MPI, Minister, if you had only observed. But you have not saved any time. Whereas many MPIs now finish in 50 minutes, you have guaranteed that they will now go the full hour. I promise you that. And at what benefit? Why would the government pick up a recommendation that had been considered and, because not adopted, one can presume rejected by the Procedure Committee? Why would they do that? They obviously do not like Independents standing up expressing their views on issues that concern ordinary Australians—a particular brand of ordinary Australians; ones that live in rural and regional Australia. This proposal has been passed on party lines with the government voting to ensure that Independents will not have the same opportunities that they have enjoyed ever since MPIs were invented. This is the first government that has moved so directly and so viciously at the rights of Independent members in this House to participate in matters of public importance. If you were going to save time and allow more government business to go through, perhaps there is an argument. But you will not. Under the proposal you have adopted you will be spending more time on MPIs.

The Chairman of the Procedure Committee, the member for McPherson, says, ‘We will look at it.’ I will bet you pounds to peanuts that there will be no change now. I say to the government: the Independents can be as critical of us in the opposition as they are of the government, but what is the harm in listening to the criticism? Don’t they have a duty to their constituents to make their voices heard? You have just made it that much more difficult. (Time expired)

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