Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Hansard source

A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker: I'm not pretending for a minute that I am supremely confident as to what the outcome of the vote will be on these amendments, but I will say that, while advice from the clerks will always be sought, ultimately it is the responsibility of the chair to make the final decision. I suggest that there is no reading of what's in front of us that says it is not relevant to the subject matter. We have a bill about domestic violence leave. We have an amendment about domestic violence leave. We have a bill that goes to specific sections of the Fair Work Act. We have an amendment that goes to the exact same sections of the Fair Work Act. We have a statement in standing orders that says that, if it's relevant to the subject matter, it's allowed. We have an identical statement in Practice that says that, if it's relevant to the subject matter, it's allowed. I'm simply asking: allow the House to vote on the issue. Leave was given by the government for these amendments to be moved together, and, rather than blowing the issue up further, I think the sensible path forward is simply to accept that, while these amendments are not within the title of the bill, they are certainly relevant to the subject matter of the bill.

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