In Parliament

Motion: Debate Be Adjourned: Move to Building Bill

MOTION

‘DEBATE BE ADJOURNED: MOVE TO BUILDING BILL’.

Thursday 17 October 2024.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (10:42):

On the procedural motion, I stand to speak very strongly in support of the Leader of the Nationals’ procedural motion to move away from this current Bill.

For the background of the House and those watching, each week there is a set-out plan for the Government that they move by way of the Government Business Program, and this week they set out three Bills. The normal process would be that each day one Bill is dealt with. There are occasions where a Bill is dealt with a little bit on a different day, sometimes. But the only reason for the delay in moving to the next Bill is because it implements the Government’s gas ban.

We have just heard from the Labor Party, from the Government, that they have packed out a speaking list on the pill-testing Bill – a packed speaking list – to block out the entire morning of debate on the pill-testing Bill so that there will be almost no time at all for any Members to speak on the Building Legislation Amendment and Other Matters Bill 2024 or on what many call the gas ban Bill, because we know how little time there is for debate today. There is so little time for debate today. We know how much the Government wants to cover it up and
not move from the current Bill to the building legislation. How shameful that the Government would misuse time in this House to stop debate on the third Bill on their own program. I think it is important to note, by the way – it is entirely relevant.

Juliana Addison: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, he is misleading the House, because every Member deserves to speak on this legislation who wants to.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: That is not a point of order.

James NEWBURY: Continuing on the procedural motion, the House will remember that the Coalition sought to take the pill-testing bill into Consideration in Detail and the Government said no. So, we have Government Members standing up – and they will, one after another – to say, ‘We want to speak on the pill-testing bill, we want to speak on the pill-testing Bill,’ but will they take it to Consideration in Detail? Scared, scared – of course they will not.

This is a stunt by the Government to block the Parliament dealing with the building legislation – that is what this is about – and it has been called out. It has been called out because the building legislation deserves proper scrutiny. You cannot ban gas in everybody’s home and not allow this Parliament time to consider it. A ban on gas in everybody’s home – this is draconian. No wonder the Government is packing out a speakers list on anything it can think of to stop an opportunity to debate the Bill. And the Government has confirmed it. They have confirmed they have got a packed list that is going to take hours – hours of debate on the pill-testing Bill. For those watching, this is the third day the Government has debated the pill-testing Bill – the third day.

Of course, they are packing the time of the Parliament on this Bill, because the building legislation Bill is very, very concerning. It allows unfettered power. I will not go too much into the detail of that Bill now. Perhaps at some stage today we will have an opportunity to at least consider it briefly, in passing – who would know? The Government has already started to pack out their speaking list for today to cover for the fact that they do not want the building legislation debated. That is what this debate is about.

So, the Government, one after another, will stand up and say, ‘We want to talk about something else.’ Of course they want to talk about something else, and when they vote against this motion, that is what it will prove: they want to hide from the gas ban. That is what a vote against this motion proves: the Labor Party want to hide the gas ban Bill. How outrageous. How outrageous that Victorians cannot have their concerns about the Government’s gas ban ventilated in this chamber. What an absolute outrage. So, we will shortly see the Government again try and hide their gas ban by voting against this motion, but we will support it.