Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

It is rare in the parliament to have so much hype over so little. I congratulate the member for Kooyong on what is an extraordinary level of spin over legislation that says very, very little—arguably, close to nothing. I am not surprised that the House has just carried a resolution, with majority support from government members, to make sure that they have to speak on these bills for today only. If I were them I would not be wanting this debate to continue beyond today either.

With this bonfire it is all smoke. People on the government benches are getting all excited about the fact that someone has decided to vacuum the spare room that nobody walks into anyway. The legislation that is in front of us—the Omnibus Repeal Day (Autumn 2014) Bill 2014 and related legislation—is a series of legislative instruments that no-one has looked at for years, that have no impact on anyone, that have no effect at all. But we keep hearing from those opposite that this legislation is going to make a big difference for business. I hope that during the debate we hear from government members about the repeal within these bills. The legislation repeals the Defence Act 1903, which amended a definition relating to a naval officer of a state navy. The states have not had navies since 1913. But just in case Queensland or Tasmania or Western Australia decide to bring back a state navy, the member for Kooyong is onto them, making sure the repeal has taken place first.

The legislation also repeals the Defence Act 1909, which, among other things, stipulated that the owner of a mule or bullock required for naval or military purposes shall furnish it for such purposes and that the owner may have to register it from time to time. So, just in case new orders come from members of the Defence Force whereby they want to reintroduce mules and bullocks to the ADF, the member for Kooyong is onto them, making sure we are up to date and repealing the relevant regulations. How this is going to make a difference to small business, only the member for Kooyong knows; only the media releases from the member for Kooyong can tell us how this is removing red tape for business. But he is clearly proud of it—proud of it enough to ask the Leader of the House, 'Please, can we just make sure this debate goes for only one day?'

The legislation also repeals the Judiciary Act 1914, which made the High Court of Australia a Colonial Court of Admiralty. Colonial Courts of Admiralty ceased to exist in 1988, but, just in case someone decides to bring one back, the member for Kooyong again is onto them, making sure that it can be dealt with. The legislation repeals a series of spirits amendment acts, including from 1915, 1918, 1923 and 1932. The main Spirits Act ceased to have any effect in 2006. The legislation also repeals the Passports Act 1948, which used a definition for the meaning of an Australian citizen for the purposes of obtaining a passport which was changed anyway in 2007.

See this speech in context