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

I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Economic Recovery Package (JobMaker Hiring Credit) Amendment Bill 2020 being called on immediately and being given priority over all other business for passage through all stages on Monday, 19 October 2020, and if consideration of the bill has not concluded by 7.15 pm today, any necessary questions to complete consideration of the bill being put without delay.

The government have been backgrounding all over the place that they have to get this bill through today. They put it in the papers that they have to get this bill through today, and then they walked out without trying to put the bill through today—doing absolutely nothing. They've got a media strategy, but no parliamentary strategy. So we're simply saying: we've been constructive the whole way through this crisis, and all the urgency is so that it can then get sent across to the Senate—which will not meet again for three weeks.

But if that's the game they want to play, if they want to say, 'This is completely urgent and it must get through today,' but then not do anything about it, let's bring it on. Let's have the debate. Let's deal with the bill. Because they can't continue to just be running around the media gallery spreading information that is 100 per cent untrue. All the bluff, all the bravado that they were going to push this legislation through today, and then the moment question time's over, off they go. Nothing. Nothing about the bill at all—no attempt. You get the Notice Paper for what we're meant to be debating today, and guess what bill they never mentioned?

Guess what's not on here at all. It's the same bill that they said they needed to get through today.

An opposition member: It's the bill that dare not speak its name!

That's right! The bill that's named Voldemort is what is in front of the parliament today. Never say its name out loud but go around the media gallery trying to grandstand and pretend that you're somehow reaching Labor. They're now off in the advisers' gallery working out whether they support their own bill being brought on. It's happening over there right now. They don't know whether or not to support a motion that would do what they've been telling the media has to happen today. They've got no idea across there. None of them know whether or not to support what they've been declaring all day must happen today.

This morning they had their army out there on Sky News. They knew what to tell Sky News about the parliament. They'd done all their radio interviews. They knew what to tell the radio stations about the parliament. It was in the talking points, which get emailed around to say what needs to happen in the parliament. But they come to the parliament and they don't have a clue. They come to the parliament and they've got no idea. They're sitting on the front bench right now: do we support our legislation, or do we not support our legislation?

This is really simple. Does anything you have said over the last few days count? Are you in fact in favour of what you've been advocating for? Were it not for Labor moving this motion, today would have come and gone and they wouldn't have had a clue whether they supported it or whether they opposed it. Today would have passed, but the bill would not have passed. So I say to those opposite: if you're going to tell the media that something has to happen today in the parliament, you need to do something about it. Legislation doesn't just magically waft through this place. Someone has to move it. Someone has to bring it on, and the legislation has to be dealt with. But they have spent their whole time—

Opposition members interjecting—

They still don't know! He's over there now: 'What to do I do? Do I support government legislation? Do I not support government legislation?' This wasn't about legislation; this was all about wedging the Labor Party. They thought: until it comes to the vote they can pretend that Labor doesn't support it; until it comes to the vote they can run a media line that somehow Labor doesn't want this legislation to happen.

They have spent this day saying legislation had to get through today, but then they didn't bother to do anything about it. It's really simple: it's your legislation, and you're now the ones whose support it uncertain. There's now a motion for it to be put through today. Had this not been moved, it never would have happened.

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