Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Senate. Formal business is the time in the Senate's routine of business which allows for motions to be dealt with in an expedited manner. Formal motions cannot be amended without leave from every senator, and they cannot be debated. As such, they should not deal with complex policy matters. Such motions are better dealt with in general business when there can be proper debate and when all interested senators have the opportunity to appropriately nuance and flesh out the complexity of all the issues raised by a particular motion. Each senator is also afforded the opportunity to raise issues and present their arguments at other times during a sitting week, including during the adjournment debate, senators' statements and debates on legislation.

When making judgements on whether something relates to a complex policy matter or not we cannot ignore the context in which relevant statements are made in the motion seeking the Senate's endorsement. This is why the government intends to deny formality for notice of motion Nos 604 and 612 in relation to Indigenous disadvantage. The government is committed to improving the lives of Indigenous Australians so this generation and future generations of Indigenous Australians can have the same expectations and opportunities as any other Australian. We're committed to closing the gap on a set of targets that will empower Indigenous Australians to transform their lives. We are doing this in partnership with Indigenous Australians in a non-partisan way.

All of us need to keep our eyes firmly focused on the outcomes we want to achieve. In that context, we do not believe that dealing with either of those motions in formal business would be helpful in achieving better outcomes for Indigenous Australians or for any Australian.