Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition does not oppose this motion. However, I point out that there was an amendment to paragraph (2), inserting the reason why this should be given such priority. Obviously, it is a matter of history and that is why the words ‘That, recognising the historic importance of a National Apology to the Stolen Generations, the first item of business’ are included. I want to make that clear to the Senate.

The other aspect is that this is unprecedented in nature due to the fact that we will be having a debate with a limited number of speakers. The motion will then be moved and, later on, the debate will continue under the guise of ‘taking note’. That is unprecedented and, for the record—quite separate from the subject matter, which is an important issue—it should be recognised that this is an unprecedented procedure being used on a historic occasion. People who look back on this measure and the way it was dealt with procedurally should not take this as a precedent for the future. This is a course taken only due to the unique issue that we are dealing with. Normal procedure in the Senate is to have a debate. Once everyone who wishes to participate in that debate has spoken, the motion is put and then voted upon. That is the normal procedure. In this case, it will be different. We appreciate why and we have agreed to that, but, just for the record, we believe that the points I have made should be spelt out for posterity.