Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Before I give the call to the minister to propose the schedule for the order of consideration of the portfolios, I would like to remind all members of the purpose of the consideration-in-detail stage and outline the way it is expected to proceed. Shortly, the Federation Chamber will be asked to agree to a proposed schedule for consideration of portfolios. This may need to be varied, but it is a useful guide to assist ministers and members to arrange their commitments. Consideration in detail is a debate, and the call shall be alternated between the government and non-government sides, as always. Even though this debate sometimes takes the format of question and answer, this is not question time. Ministers and government backbench members both will be considered as speakers on the government side and should bear this in mind when they seek the call. All speakers are required to be relevant to whichever portfolio is being examined, but there is no requirement of direct relevance in respect of any response. It might be practical for ministers to respond to more than one speaker when they seek the call. I note that this general arrangement has applied in recent years and has seemed to allow maximum participation at this stage of the debate. Each minister and member will have up to five minutes to speak each time they are called, but they may wish to speak for a shorter time. Ministers may wish to make an introductory statement when debate for their portfolio begins, but, as they are not moving amendments, that is a matter for them to decide. Members might also be aware of some administrative documents that are circulated when consideration in detail begins. To avoid confusion, let me say that any documents showing times allocated for debate on portfolios are informal and indicative only; chairs will not be seeking to enforce these times strictly. Those are the terms of reference for us to conduct this consideration in detail now.

The Federation Chamber will now consider the bill in detail. In accordance with standing order 149, the Federation Chamber will first consider the schedule of the bill.

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