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

I move:

That so much of standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Manager of Opposition Business from moving the following motion immediately:

That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) yesterday the Prime Minister protected the member for Pearce by blocking a reference to the Committee of Privileges and Members' Interests relating to secret donations received by the member for Pearce;

(b) the decision by the Prime Minister and his government to block a reference to the Committee of Privileges and Members' Interests which had been granted precedence by the Speaker has never occurred in the 120 years of this parliament; and

(c) it has been more than 1,000 days since the Prime Minister and the member for Pearce promised to introduce a national anticorruption commission; and

(2) calls on the Prime Minister to immediately:

(a) end his protection racket for the member for Pearce;

(b) support a referral of the member for Pearce to the Committee of Privileges and Members' Interests; and

(c) introduce a bill to establish a national anticorruption commission with the powers of a standing royal commission.

Yesterday the government abolished the key protection against bribery in this parliament. That's what the Committee of Privileges and Members' Interests is there to do, and yesterday they decided that it's just—

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