Susan Lamb (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Leader of the Opposition. Will the Leader of the Opposition inform the House about the progress through the parliament of his private member's bill which would restore penalty rates for working Australians? Is there any urgency to progressing this bill?

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

Just before I call the Leader of the Opposition, questions are allowed to private members on private members' bills that have been introduced by those members and on notices of motion, but I just remind the Leader of the Opposition and, indeed, the House, for those who have queries about this, that the Procedure Committee has ruled that the answers to those questions need to be confined to timing and procedure. For those who are interested, it's outlined in the new Practice on page 550. The Leader of the Opposition has the call.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question. The private member's bill on the Notice Paper in my name deals with the restoration of Sunday and public holiday penalty rates, and it is urgent. As the House knows, the bill will not progress unless the government schedules debate and a vote during government business. In light of today's poor wages data, it is more urgent than ever—

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

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The Leader of the House on a point of order.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You've already made it clear to the Leader of the Opposition that the answer he can give needs to be limited to the progress of the legislation in terms of the number of hearings that might be scheduled into the legislation, the number of submissions that might have been received by the committee that might be investigating the bill. It cannot go to the substance of the bill and it can't go to the subject matter of the bill in any respect. It can only go to the technical aspects of dealing with the bill.

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Members on both sides will cease interjecting. If anyone interjects while I'm ruling on this point of order they'll find they're watching the rest of the answer from the Leader of the Opposition from their office. I outlined the issue of timing and procedure at the start of the question. I'm not going to detain the House with all of the precedents—that is, the answers that are being given, that go back to second airports and all the rest of it—but I can assure you I'm familiar with them. Everything the Leader of the House said about what could be in the Leader of the Opposition's answer is correct. But so far he's completely in order, and I'm listening very closely. The Leader of the Opposition has the call.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you. It is most urgent that we debate the restoration of public holiday and Sunday penalty rates, because today's disappointing wages data highlights the need for this matter to be progressed during government business and scheduled for a vote. The data today reveals that private sector wages growth is below inflation. It is urgent. Everything in this country is going up above wages.

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

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The Leader of the House on a point of order.

Ms Burney interjecting—

The member for Barton is warned. She needs to realise she's in a seat where I hear her far more clearly—the member for Jagajaga's old seat. The Leader of the House on a point of order.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is going to the question of why he wants his bill to be debated in the chamber, which is going to the subject matter of the bill and the subject itself, when he's not able to do that under the standing orders, as you pointed out. He's now talking about why he wants the bill to be on, as though it's a suspension of standing orders debate, where if he just mentions the procedure of the bill he can then talk about the substance. He can't do that. It's a very, very narrow window of what he can actually talk about, and if the precedent is allowed for him to debate the subject—

Mr Champion interjecting—

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

Leader of the House, just pause for a second. You might have finished, but I didn't hear the last bit, thanks to the member for Wakefield, who will now do as I predicted—he'll leave under 94(a).

The member for Wakefield then left the chamber.

I didn't hear the last 30 seconds.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I simply make the point that, if the Leader of the Opposition is allowed to debate the substance and the subject matter, it sets a new precedent, when you very clearly stated it's a very limited opportunity to answer such a question if you're not a member of the frontbench of the government, and I think that is a dangerous precedent for us to establish.

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

I'll hear from the Manager of Opposition Business.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Mr Speaker. I followed your advice and had a look at page 550 of Practice, which goes quite specifically to whether or not there is urgency in a matter, and urgency is the only issue that the Leader of the Opposition has been dealing with and has been giving the reasons why it is urgent.

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

I obviously stand by my ruling on the Leader of the House's first point of order. The Leader of the Opposition shouldn't be debating the matter. He should be talking about urgency. Obviously, in doing that, I say to the Leader of the House that he's entitled to talk about the subject of the bill. It's a little difficult to answer the question without saying what the bill's about. But, on your second point of order that I'm ruling on now, the Leader of the Opposition I think is getting close now to debating the matter, which he shouldn't be doing. He needs to confine himself to urgency, timing, procedure. The Leader of the Opposition has the call.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is urgent to deal with our proposal to restore Sunday and public holiday penalty rates because the workers of this country are going backwards under the Turnbull government and they need a wage rise.