Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Stephen Parry, whom I am told is a senator from Tasmania and the Chief Opposition Whip in the Senate, put out a media release today commenting that lies were told in the House yesterday during the debate which changed standing orders. In his release, the senator indicates that there have been four changes to Senate sitting times and questions my criticism of current practices in the Senate, which have seen 21 packages of bills fail to be debated in the House. For the accuracy of the record and to back up my statement, the House of Representatives up until last Thursday, 13 August, had sat for 383 hours and one minute and the Main Committee for 151 hours and 39 minutes, making a total sitting this year of 534 hours and 40 minutes. The Senate—and the caveat on this is of course that there is time taken up by Senate estimates—has sat for just 236 hours and 26 minutes. I stand by my statements that the House of Representatives has worked in a way which is far more cooperative than the Senate has.

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