Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I must confess to sometimes feeling a little bit like Nostradamus in this place in terms of my ability to predict what is likely to happen. I do recall a matter of days ago, when the government were moving the hours motion and also moving the motion to exempt a number of bills from the cut-off, that I predicted that the chamber, if it approved the motion to exempt bills from the cut-off, would be doing so in order that those bills could subsequently be guillotined. That is what the motion before us today seeks to do: to guillotine the very bills that the cut-off exemption enabled to be brought forward. I must confess I do see that as a little perverse.

We again see the situation where the government on one hand are seeking to extend hours, so they are seeking to give with one hand to the chamber by providing more hours, but then they are seeking to take with the other hand by guillotining the bills which are listed in the motion before us—giving with one hand and taking with the other.

We actually have before us the fourth proposal this week for how today should proceed. The first proposal for how the day should proceed was the standard way a Thursday would flow. The second proposal that we had for how today should proceed was a variation in hours, which was moved earlier this week and would have seen the Senate rise earlier than usual. The third proposal for how today should proceed is the one that we see on the Notice Paper, which is there for you to see, Madam Acting Deputy President. Then the fourth proposal for how we should proceed today is the amended version of that motion as circulated in the chamber and moved by Senator Collins. So I do not think it is stretching things too far to say that the government are perhaps a little untidy and a little inelegant when it comes to the management of the chamber: four propositions put to this place for how to handle one day.

As Senator Collins did indicate, legislation has been moving through this chamber at a clip. The chamber has been very productive. All senators have had the opportunity to contribute as they choose on all bills exempt the Low Aromatic Fuel Bill, to date. That is the way that this place should work. There should be cooperation, but there should also be the opportunity for all senators to contribute, to speak and to examine legislation as they choose.

What we would be agreeing to if we supported this motion would be the neutering of the Senate chamber on the last sitting day of the year. We have before us a proposal to compress severely the time available to senators for the consideration of four bills. I note that Senator Collins said all colleagues, all parties, would have the opportunity to contribute to debate on these bills. That is clearly not the case, and especially not the case in relation to the gambling package of legislation. How all colleagues who choose to can contribute in that time frame of two-odd hours is not clear to me.

This chamber does have an important role as a place of review of legislation. As I have said before, often this is the first place that legislation is actually read in this building. We know that it is not always the case that the party rooms in this building look carefully at legislation. We know that it is not always the case that the cabinet room closely examines legislation. We know that it is not always the case that ministerial officers will look closely at legislation, and it is often the case that the first group of people who will carefully and closely examine and read the legislation in this building are indeed the senators of this chamber. It is always surprising the things that do get picked up by the senators in this place.

We do not want to be complicit in any way, shape or form in seeking to neuter this chamber on the last day of the year and stopping this chamber from performing its duties. I know that there is a great deal of interest in a number of these bills. There is a great deal of interest in the National Gambling Reform Bill in particular, which is the last item scheduled to be guillotined in this place.

I started by saying that I often feel like Nostradamus in this place. I know that Nostradamus did not always get his predictions right, but I feel that my batting average on that front is not too bad at the moment. This situation was entirely predictable. We said this would be the case, that the government would seek to use the guillotine. They have got a taste for the guillotine. Senator Collins has a taste for the guillotine and I am sure that I will think of some appropriate historical analogy to use in relation to Senator Collins before the day is up.

We will not be supporting this motion. The past weeks in this chamber have been marked by cooperation to facilitate the good working of this chamber and it is extremely disappointing that that has fallen by the wayside as we approach the final hours of this sitting here on this final sitting day of the year. For those reasons, we are unable to support this motion.