Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That—

(1)

The days of meeting of the Senate for 2007 be as follows:

Autumn sittings:

Tuesday, 6 February to Thursday, 8 February

Monday, 26 February to Thursday, 1 March

Tuesday, 20 March to Thursday, 22 March

Monday, 26 March to Thursday, 29 March

Budget sittings:

Tuesday, 8 May to Thursday, 10 May

Winter sittings:

Tuesday, 12 June to Thursday, 14 June

Monday, 18 June to Thursday, 21 June

Spring sittings:

Tuesday, 7 August to Thursday, 9 August

Monday, 13 August to Thursday, 16 August

Spring sittings (2):

Monday, 10 September to Thursday, 13 September

Monday, 17 September to Thursday, 20 September

Spring sittings (3):

Monday, 15 October to Thursday, 18 October

Monday, 22 October to Thursday, 25 October

Monday, 5 November to Thursday, 8 November

Monday, 26 November to Thursday, 29 November

Monday, 3 December to Thursday, 6 December.

(2)

Estimates hearings by legislative and general purpose standing committees for 2007 be scheduled as follows:

2006-07 additional estimates:

Monday, 12 February and Tuesday, 13 February and, if required, Friday, 16 February (Group A)

Wednesday, 14 February and Thursday, 15 February and, if required, Friday, 16 February (Group B).

2007-08 Budget estimates:

Monday, 21 May to Thursday, 24 May (Group A)

Monday, 28 May to Thursday, 31 May (Group B)

Monday, 12 November and Tuesday, 13 November (supplementary hearings—Group A)

Wednesday, 14 November and Thursday, 15 November (supplementary hearing—–Group B).

(3)

Committees consider the proposed expenditure in accordance with the allocation of departments to committees agreed to by the Senate.

(4)

Committees meet in the following groups:

Group A:

Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts

Finance and Public Administration

Legal and Constitutional Affairs

Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport

Group B:

Community Affairs

Economics

Employment, Workplace Relations and Education

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.

(5)

Committees report to the Senate on the following dates:

(a)

Wednesday, 21 March 2007 in respect of the 2006-07 additional estimates; and

(b)

Tuesday, 19 June 2007 in respect of the 2007-08 Budget estimates.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement in relation to this.

Leave granted.

I will only take a minute on this. What we have here again is this government using its numbers in the Senate to crunch through its estimates process. What we still do not have from the government is an indication of the spillover days and those matters. If you look at the program that is being put forward in two estimates hearings by legislative and general purpose, we have maintained both Fridays in the first additional estimates for a spillover day to ensure that the proper processes of the Senate can continue. When you look at the budget estimates, it runs again from the Monday to the Thursday. It appears that the government has maintained its position of ensuring that there will not be a spillover day during that period.

Of course, if you look at the numbers of four committees sitting for two weeks, eight days have been removed from the program. Again, that would have allowed for proper scrutiny in the Senate. Then in the second part of that we also have Wednesdays, for the November period, to Thursdays. Again what we find is that this government is not keen on scrutiny. It is not keen on ensuring that the estimates processes proceed as usual.

The government of course comes back with the tired line that they have increased the available estimates days, but the truth is that they have not. They have ensured that through this process this Senate would have reduced scrutiny available for the estimates in total. I will not take up too much of the Senate’s time on that; I simply wanted to make that point.

Question agreed to.