Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the days of meeting of the Senate for 2017 be as follows:

Autumn sittings:

Tuesday, 7 February to Thursday, 9 February

Monday, 13 February to Thursday, 16 February

Monday, 20 March to Thursday, 23 March

Monday, 27 March to Thursday, 30 March

Budget sittings:

Tuesday, 9 May to Thursday, 11 May

Winter sittings:

Tuesday, 13 June to Thursday, 15 June

Monday, 19 June to Thursday, 22 June

Spring sittings:

Tuesday, 8 August to Thursday, 10 August

Monday, 14 August to Thursday, 17 August

Monday, 4 September to Thursday, 7 September

Monday, 11 September to Thursday, 14 September

Spring sittings (2):

Monday, 16 October to Thursday, 19 October

Spring sittings (3):

Monday, 13 November to Thursday, 16 November

Monday, 27 November to Thursday, 30 November

Monday, 4 December to Thursday, 7 December.

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

Firstly, we would like to acknowledge that the government have managed to avoid all the school holidays with its sitting timetable for next year. We acknowledge the government's approach there. For the last number of years, I have been on my feet saying, 'What about school holidays?' We are, however, concerned that we are not sitting long enough in this place. We are very concerned that there are a lot of significant issues that I am sure are on the government's agenda; there are certainly a lot on our agenda that we would like to be pursuing through the parliament. So we are concerned that there are not enough weeks on the timetable for us to complete that business. We are also concerned that the government may decide next year to seek additional sitting days that are not on the agenda because they find themselves in the position where they have not scheduled enough sitting days for this place to complete its business properly, or that they will seek to guillotine bills through because they do not have enough time to prosecute their arguments because they have not scheduled enough days. While I do acknowledge that we have avoided the school holidays, we think that there should have been more time scheduled for this place to sit longer to deal with the legislative matters that no doubt the government will be bringing on but also that we wish to prosecute through this place.

Derryn Hinch (Victoria, Derryn Hinch's Justice Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it is a disgrace that we are only sitting for 15 weeks. I know as a newbie you all say to me: 'Wait till you've been here a while. We do work hard.' There are estimates committee weeks—I know that. I have been told by a senator not far from your chair, sir, that when I have been here a few years, as long as you have, maybe, I will realise that those vacations and that time back with constituents are necessary. But I think that out there, in what they call the real world, we are seen to be only sitting for 15 weeks out of 52, or only 60 days out of 365.

I agree with the senator that we have a lot of work to do. The hours you put in here are long. I think the general public do not understand that you can be here from six or seven o'clock in the morning until 10 o'clock at night, like last night. But the general perception is that we do not work long enough times. We are well paid for what we do. I just want to lodge my protest. I think we should be sitting longer.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If there are no other colleagues who wish to contribute, I will close the debate. Thank you—through you, Mr President—to Senator Siewert for acknowledging that we have endeavoured to ensure that the Senate is not sitting during school holidays. I would note Senator Siewert expressing concern that maybe there are not enough sitting days to transact the business required. The only observation I would make in relation to that is that, in a chamber where no one party, including the government, has a majority, management of this place and management of the legislative agenda is a shared responsibility of all parties and groupings that are represented here.

I think the sitting days should be adequate. Whether they are or are not I do not think is a function or will be a function of government management. It will really be a reflection particularly of whether the opposition needlessly and unnecessarily extends the debate from time to time or adopts a cooperative and positive approach, which we did when we were in opposition. So I just remind colleagues that ultimately the management of this place is a shared responsibility.

Certainly, let me acknowledge that Senator Siewert is someone who, as the whip and manager for the Greens, is extremely good to work with and cooperative, and my experience to date with the Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate, Senator Gallagher, has also been the same. I know that there are from time to time others in the respective parties who might not be as cooperatively minded, but I just observe that it really is a responsibility of all of us to manage the business in the time that is available.

Question agreed to.