Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the government business order of the day relating to the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (2014 Budget Measures No. 1) Bill 2014 and the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (2014 Budget Measures No. 2) Bill 2014 be discharged from the Notice Paper.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My colleague in the other place Jenny Macklin has made some statements around this particular decision, and I feel we have to note it, as well. This indicates a significant backdown from the government around these issues of the budget bills around social services. We could have avoided this process if their negotiations had been handled in a way that did not bring forward the bills in the way they came. This is a budget bill. We had that discussion in the last sitting. We came to this place and it was very clear that there were elements of the bill on these issues that would be able to be negotiated. We came into this place, and then new bills were created overnight.

In terms of this discharge motion, we are actually seeing a tidying up process. We believe that does happen from time to time in all kinds of records. But, just on this case, we think it is of note to say that we had to have a recreation of legislation overnight to ensure that there were things that could come to this chamber to be debated. The other half of all this process, which covered major issues, was able to be put aside— (Time expired)

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business should not necessarily take at face value what Ms Macklin tells her. The government was very prepared to alter the legislation in the Senate in such a way to give effect to the will of the Australian Labor Party. There were elements in the social services package of bills that both the government and the opposition agreed upon and, indeed, the opposition circulated amendments to give effect to the removal of those parts that they did not support. We would have accepted that. However, the opposition did not allow the bill to proceed beyond the second readers. Ms Macklin has fabricated this story that somehow we were not willing to give effect to that which they wanted to achieve. We were; but they were—I think the technical term is—bloody-minded.

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Greens will be supporting the removal of these two particular bills. We would also agree to support the removal of 6, 4 and 5 if the government felt like they would like to deal with those bills, as well, because the Greens will not support those bills. I think we need to be clear that the government has just repackaged the measures that were in bills 1 and 2 into four separate bills. We will not be supporting those bills as in the same way we did not support 1 and 2.

Question agreed to.