Motion: Debate be Adjourned: Government Sledge Motion

MOTION

‘DEBATE BE ADJOURNED: GOVERNMENT SLEDGE MOTION’.

Thursday, 19 February 2026.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (15:01):

The Government have just again, on a Thursday afternoon, sought to adjourn debate on a Bill that at the start of the week they said was important and needed to be debated throughout the week as one of the Government Business Program bills – one of the three bills – and that the Government would not want to use the Parliament’s time to sledge.

The Government has informed me that they do intend to adjourn this Bill to sledge – to take away from the Government Business Program the Bills that should have been debated and use this Parliament’s time instead to sledge.

I would say to the Government Members, who can hear me, I hope – I am happy to speak louder if they cannot – that last sitting week the Leader of the House attempted to move two Motions, which were I think the most embarrassing display of fumbling of this Chamber in my time as Manager of Opposition Business; it was the most embarrassing tactical behaviour I have seen in my time as Manager. When we spoke at that time about those Motions I made the point – I was very clear about the point – that the Government had mismanaged the Chamber and, frankly, mismanaged the tactics of this Chamber. So, what have they done right now with this Motion? They are doing it again – the same mistake of last sitting week they are doing again. They are going to move this House or attempt to move this House into dealing with clearly sledge Motions instead of proposed legislation, purely for politics because of how poor the Government’s week has been and, frankly, because we are witnessing the worst corruption scandal in our State’s history.

So, Deputy Speaker, I would say to you that of course we must oppose what the Government is proposing to do now. We must oppose it, because why should this house be debating a sledge Motion? That is what the Government have advised me they want to do, and that is why they want to move the Adjournment Motion. To everybody in this Chamber that feels like they have heard this speech before, they have, because only one sitting week ago the Government tried to do the same thing. I will put on the record that as I walked out of the Chamber just after 5 o’clock in the last sitting week, I was surprised by how many Labor Members of Parliament said to me, ‘Gee, the Leader of the House has had a really bad day’ – absolutely.

So, what has the Government done again, through the Leader of the House? It has fumbled that ball again and it has tried the same trick twice. And do you know what? Where is the Leader of the House? The Leader of the House is getting her poor Ministry up like bunnies to move these Motions, embarrassing as they are, and is not fronting the Chamber to speak on the procedural Motion.

I would say to the Chamber: the Leader of the House’s job is to lead this House. And the Leader of the House does not speak on procedural Motions. Other than the Government Business Program, the Leader of the House refuses to speak on any procedural Motion. In fact, I challenge any speaker after me to find instances – any instance – where the Leader of the House has spoken on a procedural Motion as Leader of the House. I challenge you to find that for me. Instead the Government backbench are sent out and the Ministry are sent out to move these Motions. I have never in my time in Parliament or before, working in politics, ever seen a Leader of the House so invisible on managing a House. You can see why. The Government is saying to me, ‘Ridiculous.’ Show me the example where the Leader of the House has spoken – because the Leader of the House is gutless. We will be opposing this Motion – of course we will – shocking motion that it is. We will oppose it.