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

The Manager of Opposition Business gives it away yet again. He says, ‘Why don’t you adopt our bill?’ Inherent in that is his understanding that the bill is unconstitutional. You simply cannot say that the Australian Constitution does not matter, House of Representatives Practice does not matter, the standing orders do not matter, it does not matter what the view of the Speaker is, it does not matter what the view of the clerks of the House is, and it does not matter what the views of the Attorney-General and the Office of Parliamentary Counsel are. You simply cannot wish that away. That is not a responsible way for this House to act. The only thing missing from the speeches of some of those opposite was: ‘What makes this viable is the vibe,’ as Dennis Denuto said in The Castle. No legal argument has been put forward. Indeed, the Manager of Opposition Business made it very clear, consistent with his views over a long period of time, that it is not within the powers of this House to pass a private member’s bill or a bill that has come from the Senate which seeks to appropriate funds. He made that very clear. We did have a statement from the member for Murray, who, of all people, said that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was cited to override the Constitution, House of Representatives Practice, standing orders and appropriate processes.

I want to also say that the government opposes the amendment moved by the member for Melbourne. We do so because that amendment, which suggests that the bill proceed when parliament has agreed to a method to finance the measures contained in the bill, does not override the constitutional concerns under section 53 and section 56 of the Constitution. I appreciate the fact that the member for Melbourne came into this House as a member of a political party that historically has been based in the Senate—therefore, a political party that unashamedly wants to see a shift in power from the House of Representatives to the Senate. That is not my view; that is not the view of this House. This House, under the Westminster system, has the responsibility to be the place where government is formed. That is the role that we play. The executive is derived from a majority on the floor of the House of Representatives. That is why the founding fathers constructed the Constitution in the way that they did. For opportunistic reasons, you cannot simply say: ‘We will ignore that.’

I respect the views of the member for Melbourne. I understand why the member for Melbourne has taken the position that he has. But I say to the other crossbenchers and, indeed, to the opposition—who have declared their opposition to this amendment moved by the member for Melbourne—that that opposition is indeed justified. Certainly, a number of members opposite who spoke—

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