Motion: Government Business Program

MOTION

‘GOVERNMENT BUSINESS PROGRAM’.

Tuesday, 26 November 2024.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (12:22):

I rise to speak on the Government Business Program, and in doing so if I may just take a moment to acknowledge that it is the last sitting week before Christmas, and this Parliament operates because of wonderful people around the building who do incredible hard work to keep this place going. The Clerks provide us with advice all the time and do an incredible job to make sure the House and the traditions of the House hopefully continue over time. Also, the staff around the building do an incredible job: the cleaners, the cooks and the staff out the back who look after us and make us coffees. I know Jacquie and her team, and Alex, who makes a mean coffee, do an incredible job out there and look after us.

In the spirit of Christmas, I think it is important to acknowledge them, but also our broader staff on all sides of the Chamber. We are only what we are because of the support in the teams around us, and our staff work tirelessly for us and for the community – they work incredibly hard for the local communities. I know in my team Elouise Ager, Victoria Morgan and Edward Bourke are working in my office, and we miss Allie Amey, my office manager who has had twin boys Jack and Luke. We miss her, and we know that she has got two wonderful boys to keep her very, very busy.

In terms of the Government Business Program, the Coalition will be opposing it. As the Leader of the House said, this business program includes three Bills and three motions. Most noteworthy – and I have spoken about this in previous sitting weeks – is one of the motions is the Budget motion, and roughly speaking this motion on the Budget will be acquitted at the end of this week, which means that the chance for Members in this place to speak about the Budget will conclude. The opportunity provided by the Government for Members to speak on their own Budget will no longer be the case after that motion is dealt with at the end of the week.

And what is so notable about that is that about a third of this Chamber has not been given an opportunity to speak. There are lots and lots of Members in this place who have not been given an opportunity to speak. To have the Government’s Budget motion being effectively moved on by the Government at the end of this week while a third of the Members of this place have not had an opportunity to speak on it is something that I do not think anyone in this Chamber has ever seen – a Government killing its own Budget debate. It just goes to show, frankly, how bad the Budget was – that a third of the Members in this place are being denied that opportunity. I know that there are many Members on this side who have not had the chance to yet speak about the Budget, and so ending their opportunity to speak about the Budget is really, really wrong.

There are a number of other motions on the Government Business Program to be dealt with, one of which of course we support and another which is, frankly, nothing more than a sledge motion. The Government is using the Government Business Program to play politics, not deal with legislative changes to this great state. It is using it as an opportunity to try and wedge, in some hollow attempt to dredge up a political issue to try and seek political advantage, and you can see that it does not work. You can see that Victorians have seen through this Government’s games, which is why we obviously are opposed to the manner with which the Government Business Program has been designed.

A member interjected.

James NEWBURY: I hear the Leader of the House sighing across the table. That is why I started with some Christmas cheer, Leader of the House, before getting onto our position on the Government Business Program.

But I do note that there is one motion on the program which will stop Members speaking about the Budget, and that in principle is wrong; all Members should at least have an opportunity to speak about the budget no matter how much of a dud Budget it was, and to stop a third of the house is wrong. So, the Coalition will wholeheartedly be opposing the Government Business Program and the political gamesmanship from the Government in using the motion for that purpose.