Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Hansard source

I inform the Senate that at 8.30 am today five proposals were received in accordance with standing order No. 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 Seiwert:

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

That people fleeing conflict and oppression in their home countries, who legally and legitimately sought asylum in Australia, have been arbitrarily detained in Papua New Guinea and Nauru for 6 years.

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. With the concurrence of the Senate, I shall ask the clerks to set the clock accordingly.