Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I inform the Senate that, at 8:30 am today, 15 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 Brown:

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

The Government's decision to snap back to a complex and expensive child care subsidy system on 13 July, as Australia enters its first recession in 29 years, will lead to child care becoming unaffordable and for families, particularly women, to think about going back to work and could now act as a handbrake on Australia's economic recovery.

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.