Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Hansard source

I inform the Senate that at 8.30 am today five proposals were received in accordance with standing order 75. The question of which proposal would be submitted to the Senate was determined by lot. As a result I inform the Senate that the following letter has been received from Senator O'Neill:

Pursuant to standing order 75, I propose that the following matter of public importance be submitted to the Senate for discussion:

The Prime Minister's unfair budget, which gives big business and the banks an $80 billion tax handout and makes Australians pay for it with savage cuts.

Is the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

I understand that informal arrangements have been made to allocate specific times to each of the speakers in today's debate and, with the concurrence of the Senate, I ask the clerks to set the clock accordingly.