Motion: Government Business Program

MOTION:

‘GOVERNMENT BUSINESS PROGRAM’.

Tuesday, 31 March 2026.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (12:33):

I rise to speak on the Government Business Program, and I will start in the same way that the Leader of the House did in relation to the comments that both the Minister for Police and the Leader of the Opposition made further to the motion this House considered last year following the tragedy in Porepunkah.

If I may just mention it, at that time the widow of one of the slain officers, murdered officers, spoke at the funeral of the officer and said that they looked to the sky and the weather of the day to feel whether or not their partner was still with us, and yesterday, on a beautiful sunny Melbourne day, we learned the news of the events that occurred yesterday. When first hearing an update from police, I immediately looked to the sky and remembered that reflection that she made at that time, and what a beautiful day it was to know that perhaps he was with us, all Victorians, yesterday as that news came in.

Again, on behalf of the Coalition, we send our thoughts to all of those who have been touched by the tragedy but also to the emergency services personnel who never stopped working every single day – every single day – to ensure that justice was achieved. On behalf of the Coalition, I pass on those comments.

In relation to the Government Business Program, I do note, as I started to say last week on the Government Business Program debate, my concern is that the Government is so lacking in ideas that it is clear we are not seeing a full Government Business Program and our Parliament used for politics rather than dealing with substantive legislation. That does not mean there is no legislation on the program. What I am saying is that a large part of Parliament’s time is now used for Government base politics.

Considering we are in a final year of a term, usually what happens is Governments have so much legislation for background to the house and more broadly that Governments start to prioritise the legislation that is forthcoming and they start to work through how they can get enough Bills through the Parliament, through the Lower House and the Upper House, before the end of the session.

As someone who when we were in Government managed this process, I can see this Government does not have a legislative program. They do not have a legislative program anywhere near justifying what you would expect from a sitting Government. We are seeing a very light-on program by this Government, a Government that is leaning into base politics over legislative reform, which I think quite clearly shows why Victorians more broadly have lost trust in this Government. They have lost trust in this Government and –

Belinda Wilson interjected.

The SPEAKER: Member for Narre Warren North, you are not in your place. Interjections are disorderly.

James NEWBURY: I would say my observation, which I began last week but now have the opportunity to put on the record more fully, on looking at the Government Business Program is that the Government is spending a lot of time on politics. You can see it in the program this week. We will not support a program which is about base politics. That is not a reflection on the program or some of the Bills that are in the program each week, it is a reflection on the Government using probably half of our parliamentary time now for base politics.

The Coalition not only does not support the program in that form but is calling it out. Not only do I suspect will we maybe consider the two motions on the program, but I am sure the Government will afford time on another sledge motion this week. I do not think anyone would be surprised by it. The Government is spending more time on sledge motions in this Chamber than on legislative reform, which is just wrong, so we cannot support that. We certainly cannot support a program of that nature. I think Victorians will see over coming months how light on this legislative program is and how the Government has not got the priorities that Victorians expect to be dealt with. Again, on this program, we certainly will not be supporting it.