Motion: Government Business Program

MOTION

‘GOVERNMENT BUSINESS PROGRAM.’

Tuesday 10 September 2024.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (12:29):

I will start on the Government Business Program by letting the House know that we will be opposing the Government Business Program this week.

On the Short Stay Levy Bill 2024, the Coalition again went to the Government and said we would like to take a Bill into consideration in detail – it has only happened once in this term – and the Government again said that they did not have a Minister who was able to stand up and argue the case, so the offer was declined.

It is disappointing to know that no-one has the capacity to stand up to the scrutiny. That is something the Parliament should expect; the Parliament should expect Bills at times to go into consideration in detail so that the detail of those Bills is not just rushed over, and the Bills are not simply rushed through.

I will say for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, although we agree on nothing, that in one case he was the only Minister who agreed to take a Bill into consideration, so he deserves one point for that. He is the only Minister thus far who has had the skill level required to take a Bill into consideration. So, the Coalition will be opposing the Government Business Program.

The Leader of the House spoke about the ‘excellent initiative’, the short-stay levy. In her words it is an excellent initiative, or as Victorians I am sure will come to say of it, the 55th new tax this Government has introduced – 55 of them. Though the Bill has disingenuously been titled a levy, it was somewhat bizarre to hear the Treasurer stand up in the last sitting week and read out a statement in which he confirmed that the levy was in fact a tax. The levy was a tax, but the bill was not called a tax.

No, of course the Government would not have called it a tax, because why would they be honest? The Treasurer in the last sitting week stood up in his speech and admitted that the levy was in fact a tax – the 55th new tax – and we will have a lot to say about that 55th new tax that is being imposed on the community and that the Leader of the House describes as an excellent initiative. The Shadow Treasurer has made the point a number of times that this new tax has not got a single friend. I will let the Shadow Treasurer know that there is one – the Leader of the House. The tax has one friend, the Leader of the House – the
excellent initiative.

The other things that are worth noting: each week the Government notes in the business program notification that the Leader of the House will be providing an opportunity to speak on the Budget Bill. I know I get up every week and I plead on behalf of the Labor Members – the third of the Labor Caucus who have not had a chance to speak on the Budget – that this week maybe the Government will give them their shot. Both on our side and on the Government side a third of the Members have not had a chance to speak on the Budget – the Budget the Government is clearly trying to hide.

Every single week it is on the Government Business Program: ‘We might deal with the Budget Bills’. Last week – no. The Members did not have a chance to talk about it, but why would they? Why would the Government want to provide an opportunity to debate that Budget? They wan to hide it. So again, I am going to get up on behalf of the Government Members and the Coalition to say: Leader of the House, you are letting your own side down. There are so many Members of this place who have not had an opportunity to talk about what the Government has not delivered and $190 billion in debt. Hopefully we will see an opportunity for all Members to have the right to speak up on behalf of their community.

This week there are a number of other Bills, but there are also 200 motions on the Notice Paper, roughly – 200 motions – and the Government has not provided any opportunity to talk about those motions other than previously allowing time for sledge motions. The 200 motions that are sitting on the Notice Paper are being ignored, and there are important ones, including standing order reform in relation to questions not being answered in Question Time. So, we will be opposing the Government Business Program for the reasons that have been outlined.