John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Madam Acting Deputy President, I rise on a point of order. While I understand the point that Senator Siewert makes—because, obviously, if there is an interest in a particular government document, a senator appreciates five minutes to be able to speak, and often that is available at this time of day—like Senator Siewert, I would have liked to have spoken on a government document higher in priority than No. 7. So, if we are going to go through the process of seeking leave, I will be seeking leave before document No. 7 to speak to document No. 2—and I can assure you that I will be making a very interesting contribution on that document. But the problem we have is that the way this joint works is that this ordinarily does not occur, because the time for general business has elapsed.