Motion: Government Business Program

MOTION

‘GOVERNMENT BUSINESS PROGRAM’.

Thursday, 14 October 2025

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (12:28):

If there was no other sign of how shambolic this Government is in managing this Chamber, the Government forgot to move the Government Business Program before delivering the speech on the Government Business Program. If I may reflect on the time since I have been Manager of Opposition Business, the standards have slipped, not that they were good to start with. It is not as if they were high-flyers and big achievers in this Chamber. At best they were near passes on their best day, but today we have had the Leader of the House in this place get up to speak on the Government Business Program and forget to move the motion.

What are we debating this week? We only know because in her last 20 seconds the Leader of the House figured it out and ran it off. It was very, very quick. You could see in the contribution from the Leader of the House how shambolic their management of this chamber is. The management of this Chamber is a joke. I can tell you I am going to start in the way I intend to proceed: we will be opposing the Government Business Program. You will see in my management of opposition business that we will be holding the Government to account for their appalling behaviour in this Chamber and taking the fight right up to the Government when it comes to the appalling management of this Chamber.

I must confess to the Chamber that I was aware the Leader of the House had not moved the motion, but I thought we might get to the full 5 minutes, and the Leader of the House might just fully forget. I thought, ‘Will I be kind and let her know that it has not been moved?’ – because that would be an epic error – and I thought on this one occasion, on this first day of being in the job, I would not be kind. I am sorry, Leader of the House. But fortunately, on this occasion you were prompted with 20 seconds to go, and we heard of a motion after the speech was given.

The Leader of the House did speak to a number of significant issues that are occurring this week in the Chamber. Another significant debate that will soon commence is on the Voluntary Assisted Dying Amendment Bill 2025. Notice was given earlier today, which I imagine will be a significant opportunity next week.

Mary-Anne Thomas: On a Point of Order –

James NEWBURY: Oh. I did not even take a Point of Order when you did not even move the motion.

Mary-Anne Thomas: On a Point of Order, Deputy Speaker, we are talking about the Government Business Program. The voluntary assisted dying bill is only being introduced today – the Bill has not even been distributed in the Chamber – so I think the Manager of Opposition Business is getting way ahead of himself. He should focus on what the Government Business Program has before us this week.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Member for Brighton had just started straying.

James NEWBURY: I have got to tell you, I would not have done this, but Leader of the House, of all the people who could have a go at someone on detail, after your contribution just now I certainly think I would not be leading with my chin on that. You did not move the motion on the Government Business Program.

We will be opposing this Government Business Program. I did go to the Government, and I did ask for consideration in detail on the Parks and Public Land Legislation Amendment (Central West and Other Matters) Bill 2025, which is very important to the community. Significant numbers of our community in Victoria more broadly have raised issues around this bill and the Government’s mismanagement of locking up parks. We all remember the Premier saying, ‘We won’t lock up parks.’ She said it on the front page of the Herald Sun last year. Well, guess what this bill does – it locks up parks. So, I think there will be an interesting debate on that particular Bill.

The Bill was an opportunity for Consideration in Detail. Disappointingly, the Government has not got the capacity to take the Bill into Consideration in Detail, because it is hard – you have got to answer questions, you have got to be on top of your brief and you have got to be good at your job. Not everyone is. That is why the Government said, ‘No, we won’t take it into Consideration in Detail.’

We will be opposing the Government Business Program. I will be holding the Government to account in this Chamber, because their mismanagement has been shown very, very clearly today.