Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House, at its rising, adjourn until 12 noon on Tuesday, 3 June 2008, unless the Speaker or, in the event of the Speaker being unavailable, the Deputy Speaker, fixes an alternative day or hour of meeting, and for government business to take precedence from 12 noon until 2 pm on that day.

I have done this now rather than at the end of the day so that all members can be notified of what is planned for tomorrow. The intention of the government, in consultation with the opposition, is that from 12 noon tomorrow until 2 pm the debate on the Fuelwatch legislation will continue. It has also been agreed that there will not be any interruptions to that debate. The parliament is likely to sit late tomorrow evening. That is on the basis that members have suggested that they would rather sit late on Tuesday night than Wednesday night when there are various functions that people have to attend. The government does have 22 bills that it needs to get through the House of Representatives this week so that they can be ready for the Senate when we return in two weeks time.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In dialogue with the Leader of the House, we are trying to be as accommodating as we can be. But I say to the Leader of the House that the way bills are being rammed through this chamber at this moment is quite simply unprofessional. Last year 11 bills were guillotined; five of them were related to the Northern Territory intervention. So far, the Labor Party in government have guillotined three bills and indicated they are going to guillotine other bills throughout the course of this week. As a result, we are now finding out more about the Fuelwatch bill, for example, through sources other than debate in the chamber. I say to the Leader of the House: getting legislation through this chamber is difficult at the best of times but, if this is going to be an unholy mess, we will ensure that the government are held accountable for it. If they are not organised, we will make sure that that disorganisation has a price.

Question agreed to.