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

Back to politics as usual pretty quickly over there! The parliament's decision that we would not sit until 11 August was always absurd. It was absurd for two reasons. First, the nation was going through a health crisis which was causing an economic crisis. And we said, at the time the government said that we would not sit until 11 August, that we would need to come back, and we were voted down. Today is now the third time we have come back since the government decided we wouldn't need to sit until 11 August.

The second issue is that not only do we need to come here for the business of government to do our jobs as members of parliament but we also need to come here for the scrutiny of government. Right now, we are going through the largest period of expenditure in the history of the Commonwealth. To be doing that at a time when the parliament is not meeting is absurd. The point's been made before—and the Leader of the Opposition in the other place made the point again only hours ago—that we are able to observe physical and social distancing here. While we're not meant to be meeting until 11 August, rugby league will be starting on 28 May. If you think about rugby league adopting the 1½ metre distant tackle rule, it's not easy for them to do. But they are able to resume playing again, whereas we, spaced at the distance that we are, are apparently not going to be able to meet until 11 August. Scrutiny should not be another casualty of this pandemic. The parliamentary process should not be another casualty of this pandemic. Us turning up here for work should not be another casualty of this pandemic.

I know the Prime Minister has said this week we are here for a trial. They've been trialling parliament since 1901. It works. We've had the trials of parliament. We've had the trials of whether or not we could meet through social distancing. We can. We have shown we are able to make those changes and function. There is no reason—absolutely no reason—for the government to not be bringing down this week a new sitting calendar.

We're not asking in this amendment that the government be told these are the dates on which we must sit. What we are saying is the House should acknowledge the concept that we don't come back until 11 August is ridiculous. The concept that sporting events are now finding ways to have regular weekly meetings and games, that they can do that, but we can't fulfil our essential constitutional role is an argument that is completely flawed. Therefore, this amendment gives the government the full normal authority to say what exactly those dates will be. But the opportunity for claiming that we can't meet any more needs to end and it needs to end now. The parliament should resume a normal sitting calendar, and tomorrow, as the first item of business, the government should be presenting that to the parliament.

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