Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being 7.30, I propose the question:

That the House do now adjourn.

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, I require that the question be put immediately without debate.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order?

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

Mr Deputy Speaker, for the question to be put immediately would actually be contrary to the suspension of standing orders motion that the House has carried. The House carried the motion by the minister for drought that all the standing orders that would get in the way of this debate occurring be automatically suspended and that could be varied by a motion moved by a minister. What the minister has just done is activate standing order 31(c)(ii). Standing order 31(c)(ii)—and he has activated it accurately—says that if a minister requires the question to be put immediately as proposed under paragraph (a) then that would happen.

The problem for the minister in this instance is that the question that would then be put was not moved by a minister; it is, in fact, under standing order 31 proposed by the Speaker. Under the suspension of standing orders motion that we carried only a minister can move a motion that would vary the arrangements that we have. The Deputy Speaker cannot propose a motion that would vary the arrangements that we have. If this were allowed then for the rest of the night I would be allowed, for example, to move that the debate be adjourned, to move to suspend the standing orders and to move a whole lot of things that would be completely inconsistent with the resolution.

I put it to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, that the minister can't in the first instance have a motion to get a bill through its various stages that can be varied only by a motion moved by a minister and then activate a standing order that would have the motion, in fact, proposed by the Deputy Speaker and not moved by a minister.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House.

Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, the difficulty with that argument is that this motion is simply to extend the sittings of the House. It does not vary the motion that the minister put before the House. That motion is a permissive motion that says for the purposes of 'a cognate debate to occur, and passage of both bills through all stages today, without delay at any stage'. So this is a standard motion that is proposed by the speaker and, as the member opposite noted, the moving of the motion to allow for a vote on the question that the House do now adjourn was appropriately moved by me in this position.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business.

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

Mr Deputy Speaker, in terms of the ruling that you make, I simply put that it's either both or neither. Either only a minister can move the adjournment and anything that would interrupt the bill—in which case it locks you out and it locks me out—or, if you are now in a position to propose, as the Leader of the House has invited you to, that the House do now adjourn, it is, therefore, open to me for the remainder of the debate to move any adjournment motion, any procedural motion or any suspension motion relevant to the bill in front of us.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the member for Kennedy wish to speak on the point of order?

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like to know what's going on here. Am I being gagged?

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm about to resolve that. I ask you to take your seat.

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Am I being gagged?

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask you to take your seat. I'm going to do exactly what you're asking me to do. Having heard the arguments from both the Manager of Opposition Business and the Leader of the House, I am not persuaded by the argument of the Manager of Opposition Business. Therefore, the question is that the House do now adjourn.

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

The question is that the House do now adjourn.