Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can update members on arrangements as to where we're at with respect to the Senate. After nine hours without getting any amendments through, there was one hour where quite a lot happened, and we are now down to only four more amendments in the Senate. That said, some of the debate we thought we might have gotten to by 5.30 was then interrupted by a strange debate involving references to unicorn farmers, and there's a capacity for things to go on for some time.

I have reasonable confidence that it will be dealt with tonight, but there will then be a period of transmission. Undertakings have been given. That said, I don't want to commit us to a specific time line tonight. What I think is the better option is that we work on the basis that the bells will ring at 8 am tomorrow, and if the Senate, for some reason, just continues debating or doesn't get through it, then we will communicate a change of arrangements through the whips and directly to the crossbench. That's the explanation.

For members: for complete clarity, we will suspend in a moment but not adjourn. In suspending, it will be with the intention that the bells will ring at 8 am tomorrow, and the only item on the agenda will be the message from the Senate that we will deal with. Traditionally it has not been a long debate, but my capacity to predict the length of debates this week has not been great. It's reasonable to presume that it won't be a long period in which we will be dealing with things tomorrow. I think that explains everything for members. On that basis, Mr Speaker, to suit the convenience of the House, I would ask that you suspend the sitting and leave the chair with the intention of ringing the bells at a later hour, which, for the information of members, is intended to be 8 am tomorrow.

Sitting suspended from 18:21 to 08:00

The House transcript was published up to 18:21. The remainder of the transcript will be published progressively as it is completed.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Wilkie) took the chair at 09:30.