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

I rise to speak on the 43rd suspension motion being moved by those opposite. Every day they come in here and they move a suspension of standing orders. Is it about policy? Is it about an alternative vision for the nation? No. It is always about muckraking and getting down in the gutter. It is always about their frustration with the fact that they did not win the last election and that they remain in opposition. We should not indulge the opposition by supporting the suspension of standing orders in order to have further indulgence from them.

What we have scheduled for this afternoon is a debate on a matter of public importance. It is an important debate. It is from the member for Robertson and it is about paid parental leave. I am not surprised that those opposite do not want to discuss paid parental leave because they had a debate on paid parental leave in their party room yesterday and it got to be a pretty hot old party room. The member for Indi said this yesterday to Senator Heffernan, 'Pop your Alzheimer's pills.' But there was also a bit of policy debate. Senator Heffernan gave a character reference for some of his colleagues with a word that would certainly be unparliamentary to use in this chamber. What is more, Russell Broadbent, the member for McMillan, got up and said that the opposition leader's paid parental leave scheme, partly funded by a tax on business, was the wrong priority and that the opposition should be looking at things like disability services—what this government is doing on the National Disability Insurance Scheme. He was backed up by Queensland Senator Sue Boyce. She agreed, describing the Leader of the Opposition's proposal as 'a Rolls-Royce scheme when all we need is a Holden scheme'. They understand that we on this side of the House have put in place a paid parental leave scheme. It is in place. It is operating. It is effective. The minister was speaking about that earlier today in question time, before question time was so rudely interrupted.

See this speech in context