Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the order of government business for the remainder of the day shall be as follows:

• Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives Bill 2009 and related bills
• Health Insurance Amendment (Extended Medicare Safety Net) Bill 2009
• Migration Amendment (Abolishing Detention Debt) Bill 2009 [No. 2]

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday, when I moved a motion in the Senate that the renewable energy target legislation be given precedence over other legislation when it came from the House of Representatives, it was defeated by both major parties. However, the government gave me to understand that they voted against it not because it would not be given precedence but because they would not have the Senate determine what the Senate’s order of business would be; they were determined to have that carriage themselves and they intended to bring on the renewable energy target.

Now I find that, with this rearrangement of business, we will not be dealing with the renewable energy target legislation, even though it has been through the House of Representatives. I would like to know from the government why they continue to play politics with renewable energy when they know there is a whole industry out there waiting for this legislation. Where is it and why hasn’t it got precedence? I would like to know why there has been this change in the order of business.

Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The messages from the House of Representatives in relation to the renewable energy bills will be coming through this afternoon, so this rearrangement is to allow debate on other bills to continue before those messages come.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Acting Deputy President, I seek leave to make a short statement.

Mark Bishop (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for two minutes.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just want to follow up on the point that Senator Milne so cogently made. If the rearrangement of business is because the messages are coming through from the House later, that is a matter, I submit, for the government. I have been in here long enough to know that messages from the House can come through very quickly or they can come through very slowly. I know that some very important amendments to the renewable energy legislation are going to be proposed which are going to require studious debate by the Senate, and the government is now putting the debate off till later to force the debate to be truncated.

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Don’t you believe that!

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the out of order member from the coalition benches interjects, they will not get a truncated debate from the Greens. This matter is too important to be manipulated by the government in the fashion in which it is aiming to do so.

Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Acting Deputy President, I seek leave to make a short statement.

Mark Bishop (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for two minutes.

Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I advise senators that there is no intent by the government to delay the renewable energy legislation. We have 15 minutes before question time, and the messages will be read after question time. There is no subterfuge going on here, senators, I can assure you. We just want to get on with the business of the Senate.

Question agreed to.