Motion: Working From Home

MOTION:

‘WORKING FROM HOME’.

Thursday, 5 March 2026.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (10:56):

I move:

That after the word ‘occurring’ insert: ‘and after the word “Victorians” insert “and that this house notes how stale and political this sledge motion is”’.

The Deputy Speaker of the House has agreed that my Amendment is in order. I say again to the House that this House also notes the further Amendment proves how stale and political this sledge motion is. The raw, ruthless politics of this Government has come to full display this morning. What has happened for the first two weeks of this year is the Government has not wasted the Parliament’s time until the end of a Thursday, when, in a ham-fisted attempt to play raw politics and be political, the Leader of the House has, at the end of a Thursday, moved to a sledge motion, two weeks in a row – not once. You would think that when you make a mistake once, you would learn from the mistake the first time. One would think that they would only make a mistake once, but the Leader of the House managed it twice. The Leader of the House managed to make the same mistake twice, which I think says quite a lot about the competency, or not, of the Leader of the House. But what the Leader of the House has done today is rearrange the Notice Paper to put the sledge motion up front. So, we are now going to, under this Government, waste a whole day on a sledge motion.

The rawness of the politics and the ruthlessness of the politics is on full display. There is no cover to it. There is no attempted cover for the House to do anything to start the day and then slip it in at the end to close off the week. What the Leader of the House has done is say, ‘Don’t worry about a full day of Parliament – we are just going to waste the Parliament’s time with raw politics.’ What this move has done is expose to Victorians that this Government cares more about a sledge motion than the needs of Victorians, the wants of Victorians and frankly the priorities of Victorians. Because Victorians know that this Government has not dedicated one minute of this Chamber’s time in recent weeks to the $15 billion of money that has been corrupted. Their money – taxpayers’ money, not Labor’s money. It certainly is not your money, Government Members. It is taxpayers’ money – $15 billion.

So, we are now debating a sledge motion, which follows – I think it is fair to put on the House record – repeated sledge motions each and every single week. That is why I move my Amendment – to make it clear to this House through my Amendment that this House is repeatedly being forced to debate sledge motions, as has been noted in my Amendment, because this Government is wasting the Parliament’s time in doing so.

I do want to make one point at the outset about the substantive motion in line (b) –

Mathew Hilakari: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, I have checked the microphones. They are in working order. Could we have people stop yelling in the House repeatedly?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: That is not a point of order, member for Point Cook. You are just going to annoy me.

James NEWBURY: You said what I was thinking, Deputy Speaker. I want to start my contribution by referring to line (b) of the motion, where the Government notes ‘spreading misinformation’. This week and in recent weeks we have seen a Premier and a Government spread misinformation in a way that is damaging Victoria’s confidence in our institutions – directly damaging Victoria’s confidence in our institutions – because the misinformation they are spreading is beyond anything we have ever seen before in Victoria. This is a level of misinformation that has never been seen before. The sledge motion goes to it on working from home, but also on other matters in relation to political parties, on both issues, the Premier herself has been the chief misinformation spreader in this State. It is no wonder she has no friends on social media. It is no wonder that she has to buy bots from overseas, because this Premier is spreading so much misinformation, as the motion itself speaks to. It is clear from this motion and what strikes me from it is that the Premier is the chief misinformation spreader. She is causing damage and causing distrust amongst our institutions. Shame! Shame on the Premier, who thinks it is appropriate to spread misinformation.

We have said almost every single day – every single day – that we support working from home. How clear is that? What the Premier has done in a –

Danny Pearson interjected.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): I ask the Minister at the table to refrain and the Member for Brighton to continue.

James NEWBURY: Thank you. We have said that we support working from home. We support working from home. How many times do I need to say it? We support working from home – we support working from home – and every single Member –

Members interjecting.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): Order! The Member on his feet will be heard with less raucous behaviour in the Chamber. Thank you.

James NEWBURY: What the Premier has done is gaslight Victorians by not releasing draft legislation on this plan, and it is time that it was called out. The Coalition has said we support working from home, so bring in the legislation, bring it in, but the Government will not.

Danny Pearson interjected.

James NEWBURY: The minister at the table has admitted the Government does not intend to bring in the legislation because of politics.

Paul Edbrooke: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, it is unparliamentary for the Member on their feet to respond to interjections from the Chamber.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): I ask the Member for Brighton to continue debating the motion that we have before us.

James NEWBURY: If the Government Members ceased interjecting, there would be less interjections to respond to. I again go to the point in the motion in terms of the Government’s legislation. The Government has no legislation. It is gaslighting Victorians. The Premier is gaslighting Victorians. If the Premier had legislation, she would bring it in. We saw only this week a Bill brought into this place that was drafted over a weekend. The Government had the capacity over a weekend to draft a Bill before bringing it in urgently for the House to consider. I would say in relation to the faux legislation which is pointed to in the motion: bring it into the Chamber. If you have a plan, bring it into the Chamber. We have seen successive Governments put legislation into the Chamber in the final week of a Parliament, designed to stop it passing the Parliament. This year the Government has set out a legislative program that is short, that has us finishing in the early days of September for an end of November election –

Danny Pearson interjected.

James NEWBURY: Acting Speaker, it is unparliamentary for the Minister to be screaming abuse. I do not know if he has had an early lunch, but the early –

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): Excuse me. Minister at the table, please hold your enthusiasm back a bit. The Member for Brighton has the floor, and he is entitled to be heard. Member for Brighton, you have got to stop pointing. You have got to use your words rather than just pointing at him. What are you asking me to do when you point at him?

James NEWBURY: Acting Speaker, I think next door can hear the abusive language that is coming out of the Minister’s mouth. I am sure you can hear it. I do not think I need to make you aware of every instance where someone is abusive, and it is only reasonable –

Michaela Settle: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, the Member for Brighton is reflecting very badly on the Chair, and I ask him to apologise to the Chair.

Brad Rowswell: On the point of order, I think you will agree, Acting Speaker, that the intervention by the Member for Eureka is unnecessary and also untrue, and I am confident that you will rule accordingly.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): I am going to ask the Member for Brighton to come back. I am going to remind the Minister at the table to allow the Member for Brighton to make his contribution without assistance, and I call on the Member for Brighton to continue to make his contribution to the motion before us.

James NEWBURY: As I have been, Acting Speaker. This is where we have descended to: a Government that is shouting personal abuse across a Chamber. That just goes to show the quality of the Minister. The only thing I could suggest is that he has had an early long lunch, as he is prone to do.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): Excuse me, Member for Brighton. I am asking you to discuss the matters of the motion on the table and stop making character references about the Minister at the table.

James NEWBURY: I appreciate that you heard my contribution. It seems that some contributions can be heard. On the motion, as I was saying in relation to the Government’s faux legislation, we have called for the Government to introduce their legislation, not put out social media tiles about what they are going to do, not release press releases saying what they might do, because it is fair and reasonable to be concerned that with the timing of the Parliamentary year it will not be possible for the Government to put through their entire legislative program unless they map out properly what they intend to do throughout the remainder of the year. As I have said, the Parliament finishes in the early days of September. I understand from media reports the Premier said yesterday there is an intention to release legislation in July. Well, anybody in Victoria can go onto the Victorian Parliament’s website and they can see that Parliament does not sit in July; it sits for two days at the end of July. Parliament is not sitting for the entirety of July, so the Government has a window of a very, very short couple of days to try and finish their entire legislative program. I think every Victorian should start to ask about this, and they have seen this in the past when it has come to government previously. Governments have a habit of putting in Bills at the end of a term with a known intention for it not to pass before the election – a known intention – and when it does not get through the Parliament because of a lack of time Governments will say, ‘It’s not our fault. We intended to do it, but there was so much legislation we couldn’t get it passed. It just couldn’t get passed in time.’ So, I think every Victorian has a right to ask whether the Government actually has an intention to legislate this policy. Do they have an intention? If they do, why would they not bring in the legislation? Is the Government seriously suggesting that it is unable to introduce legislation? As I said before, early this week we saw a Bill drafted over a weekend. It was brought in on Tuesday. It was provided urgent status effectively – not officially, but the house committed to do that. I requested on that instance for the House to consider the matter on the first day and for the House to consider that matter swiftly, and it was put through; the Council is considering that matter today. The Government in that instance was very able to see that legislation dealt with and acquitted within one day and to have the Council considering it today. So, the idea that the Government have not got the capacity to legislate before July, when the Parliament is not sitting, their working from home legislation suggests to me –

Belinda Wilson: Acting Speaker, on relevance –

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): You are making a point of order?

Belinda Wilson: I am making a point of order, and that is on relevance.

James Newbury interjected.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): Excuse me, Member for Brighton. Just a moment. She can make a point of order. Now I am going to call you to respond to the point of order, but you should not be shouting while you are on your feet. Could you please –

James NEWBURY: Acting Speaker, you are reflecting on me.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): I am.

James NEWBURY: On the point of order, Acting Speaker, Item 3 of the substantive motion talks about the legislative plan of the Government, which is entirely what I am speaking about.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): There is no point of order. I ask the Member for Brighton to continue to speak on the motion.

James NEWBURY: As I have been, and I will continue speaking about the legislative plan, or lack thereof, of this Government. This government clearly, in my view, do not intend to put legislation to this Parliament and see it passed, because if they did, the legislation would be before the house today. I am saying not just that this Government, because I think they know what they are doing by way of their gaslighting, but every Victorian should now ask the truthfulness of what this Premier has committed to. Truthfulness, because the Coalition supports working from home, and we have said we want to see the legislation. Please bring in the legislation – that is what the Coalition has said. We have said we want to see the legislation. We want the legislation to come in, because you cannot make new law by a Premier’s press release. That is not law. The Premier’s Facebook and Instagram posts to her African bots are not new law.

A member interjected.

James NEWBURY: That is where the bots are coming from.

Nicole Werner interjected.

James NEWBURY: And South-East Asia. That is where the bots are coming
from.

Members interjecting.

James NEWBURY: Both, both, both.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): I would ask the Member for Brighton not to react to interjections and to continue to talk on the motion.

James NEWBURY: Where the bots are coming from was the point that I made – and an Instagram and social media post directed at the Premier’s bots do not make law. Bills brought into Parliament passed by a Parliament make law. We would say that the Government does not intend to pass this legislation and have it enacted before the end of the year. It is deeply concerning to Victorians that the Government, and the Premier specifically, are being so political about this issue on when both sides of the Chamber have said we support working from home. Both sides of the Chamber have said it. There is an inherent mistruth and, as the motion says in line (b), a misinformation campaign, clearly, from this Government, which is seeking to play politics with this issue. If the Government intends to implement a policy, bring in a Bill, bring in legislation. That is what the Government needs to do. That is what this Premier needs to do. But the Government is not.

This Amendment that I have moved goes straight to the truth of this matter – that this motion proves how political and stale this sledge motion is. That is what it is: it is a sledge motion. It is nothing else. It is an attempted sledge on the Opposition based on no truth. As I have said and as we the Opposition have said over and over again, we support working from home. It is time for the Government to bring in their legislation. I think Victorians are now starting to ask – because they know there has been no change in law. Victorians know the law has not changed. Victorians know that, and they know that we are now some six months after the Premier said people can work from home. Of course, under their workplace arrangements many people are working from home, but Victorians are now starting to ask, ‘Why hasn’t the Government attempted to change the law? Why hasn’t the Government tried to bring in legislation? Why hasn’t the Government brought in legislation? Why haven’t they?’ It is a very fair question, because the Government only wants to play politics with this issue. They do not want to legislate. The Government does not want to legislate. If they wanted to legislate, they would. They could and they would. We have seen, as I raised earlier, an instance where the Government was able to legislate over a weekend, but on this matter the Government has not sought to legislate. In fact, on the timeline the Government has set out between announcement last year and some supposed introduction of a Bill in July when Parliament is not sitting, it will have been some one year.

The Government will not have legislated for a full year between the announcement and what they intend to do. As I said, legislation needs to be passed to change the law. It does not happen through social media. It does not happen through a press release. It does not happen when a Minister stands at the back of Parliament and talks to the media. That does not change the law, which is why the Coalition has consistently called for the legislation to be released. It is only fair and reasonable. In fact, I think Victorians are now starting to ask, ‘Where is the legislation?’ I think they want to see legislation introduced. I do not think that Victorians think that –

Anthony Cianflone interjected.

Wayne Farnham: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, I will just point out that the Member for Pascoe Vale has now reflected on the Chair three times in a row. I would ask you to bring him into order.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): I will ask the Member for Pascoe Vale not to interject in this debate or reflect on the Chair.

James NEWBURY: As I was saying, I think Victorians are now starting to ask, ‘Why isn’t the Government changing the law? Why aren’t they doing that? Why won’t they bring in the legislation?’ As I have just outlined to the Chamber, my concern on the legislative timeline of this year is Parliament is not sitting in July. Parliament is only sitting for two days at the end of July – two days.

Members interjecting.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): The Member for the Member for Narre Warren North is not in her correct seat.

James NEWBURY: You cannot pass a Bill through a Parliament in two days. Even the Bill we dealt with this week required several days to be put through both Chambers. It did not just happen. It takes time to go through both Chambers. So, we would say not only do we support working from home, but it is time for the government to stop playing games and introduce the legislation, because as we are seeing with this motion and as my Amendment goes to, the Government has been caught playing politics on this issue – gaslighting Victorians. That is what they are doing. If they had an intention to do it, they would.

Instead, what the Government wants to do is find any opportunity where things are not going well and use an announcement on this issue to take away from the fact that they have covered up corruption. That is what we have seen over recent days. The Government is using working from home as a policy to cover up their failures on corruption. They are using this issue. How morally bankrupt can you be? Because the Government could bring in the legislation and settle any question for Victorians as to what is being proposed, and the house could consider it, but they do not. They wait, they wait and they wait, because they know that if they hold the legislation back, they can make an announcement and try and deflect from the corruption that has occurred under their watch. That is shameful. That is political and that is shameful.

Anthony Cianflone: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, just on relevance, the Member is not talking to the substantive parts of the motion. He is not being clear. Do the Liberals support legislating working from home? He is totally avoiding the question. He does not want to answer the question. I will draw you on relevance, please.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): I will ask the Member for Brighton – I have not called you yet, so just wait a moment. I will ask the Member for Brighton not to respond to a point of order while the point of order is being made. I now ask you to make your point of order, please.

James NEWBURY: On the point of order, Acting Speaker, I am speaking to my Amendment, which is entirely in order.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): Looking at the Amendment to Amendment, yes, I can see that he is speaking to his Amendment. I will ask you to continue.

James NEWBURY: I can understand why the government is concerned about me raising the truth of what the Government’s strategy is. I can understand why they do not want it exposed. The fact that this Government is using working from home to take away from their cover-ups on corruption is shameful, and that is what is happening. Instead of introducing legislation, the Government is now holding it back so that they can use this issue to deflect from corruption under their watch.

How shameful, how morally bankrupt to use people’s right to work from home – which the Coalition has said it supports; we support working from home – to use that issue, and not legislate, purely to cover up what is happening under their watch in terms of a $15 billion corruption. That is what is occurring – and that is gaslighting. I say not only should the Government introduce the legislation and introduce it now, but the Government need to explain why they are using this issue for brutal, raw politics, trying to take away from the cover-up of corruption that has occurred under their watch. The Parliamentary sitting calendar for this year shows how difficult it will be to pass that legislation, so I now question whether the Government have the capacity to pass the legislation in the timeline they have set out. Bring it on now. They will not because they need a shield for their corruption. To use this issue in that way is shameful. That is what they are doing, and I think Victorians can now see it. They are using this issue to shield their failures in corruption. It is a disgrace and Victorians will see through it because this Government will not introduce the legislation, and that speaks for itself.