Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition will support the government’s substantive motion and will not support the Greens amendment. I will explain briefly why. We do not believe we need to spend any more time here than necessary to deal with the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme bills. We have reluctantly agreed to the extension of hours but we understand the package and the arrangements that have been negotiated between the coalition and the government. We will facilitate the additional legislation that needs to be discussed Monday morning, providing that that legislation is reached by agreement, which I indicated previously by leave.

Can I again place on the record that we have found the government’s management of the annual calendar this year and again for next year to be incompetent at a best description. I also say that we have again given up our general business today. We have not lodged a matter of public importance, to assist the facilitation of the business. Irrespective of the urgency of and the necessity of Senator Faulkner’s proposition this afternoon, we are supportive of that to take place. We note that that does eat into other time, including the consideration of other documents.

The government is not off the hook in relation to its management of hours just because we have agreed that the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme suite of legislation be debated. Again I request that the government increase the number of sitting weeks for the 2010 calendar year. Could I say through you, Mr President, to Senator Fielding that if the government had increased the number of sitting weeks then we would have been using the emissions that you were describing earlier because we should have been flying up and back at least another two or three weeks for this calendar year alone. Our frustration means that our patience is wearing thin. We have continually said that it is up to the government to set the sitting calendar so that we can work our entire calendars around that sitting framework. However, if the government continually refused to allow enough sitting weeks in each calendar year then we may then have to reconsider our position and agree with the Greens and other minor parties on increasing that sitting calendar for the Senate. I do not want to have to be in a position to stand up and do that in the new year, but the government is clearly on notice that this is the situation that has arisen this year because we have run out of sitting weeks, the lowest number for a long period of time. Again I would urge the government to consider increasing their sitting schedule for the next calendar sitting year.

Question negatived.

Original question agreed to.