Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I deeply wish to see this legislation pass. The government provided government business time for legislation that is receiving a conscience vote. We listed it as the first item of government business on Tuesday and provided all of the government business time available on Tuesday for its consideration. We, with the cooperation of the chamber, also provided additional time on Tuesday night for the Senate to continue its consideration of this bill. We then also provided extended sitting hours through negotiation with other parties last night for consideration of the bill and, of course, listed it as the first item of government business and, again through negotiation with other parties, provided additional time this afternoon for debate in what would otherwise have ordinarily been general business debating time. I want to acknowledge that there has been cooperation across the chamber to provide additional time for debate of this bill. I don't want to cast any aspersions on any individuals that have contributed at various lengths to the bill. I have certainly tried to keep my contributions as short and sharp as possible to keep things moving. Noting that I think it is unlikely that the extra half an hour you propose, Senator Steele-John, would have enabled all of the remaining amendments to be considered and debated in the way in which such sensitive topics should be handled for the conclusion of the bill, I would provide the commitment that we will seek to manage the program in the next sitting week in a way that provides sufficient time to try to conclude this matter. I hope that we will receive sufficient cooperation around the chamber to be able to do that in terms of giving up some of the other parts of the business or enabling additional hours, as you say, at a time when it is possible for individuals to do.

I appreciate very much, as I said, the sentiments you are making. I am committed, and many others are committed, to seeing this bill come into law, but I am also committed, on what is a highly sensitive topic with serious ethical and moral considerations for individuals around the chamber that cross party lines, to ensuring that, as with previous conscience votes on matters of this nature, people have all the time they need to be able to thoroughly ventilate their concerns on the issues that are raised in a manner befitting proper parliamentary debate.