Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That business intervening before order of the day No. 18, government business, be postponed until the next sitting.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just want to seek information from the government as to why we are moving this motion. My understanding from what was put on the Notice Paper is that the government on day one has run out of business. If that is what is going on, the government should be up-front with the parliament that they have run out of business on day one of the new year and, because the parliament had nothing to do, they have had to move a special resolution to bring forward legislation from another day. What we have is a situation where the assistant minister has moved something without giving a speech and without telling us what has happened. But it looks to me like we have in fact run out of business.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister has moved the motion and I am now going to put the motion. The question is that the motion moved by the assistant minister be agreed to.