Tony Burke
Watson · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“People smugglers want there to be footage of Australian voices claiming that people smuggling will work, and those opposite are providing it. The second thing that people smugglers want is access to information.”
“I think it's fair to say that that sort of respect is ordinarily there regardless—it's nothing to do with the gravity of the issue. It's just an acknowledgement that each of us is one out of 150, to make sure that we are conscious that, if everybody acted the way we might want to act in a particular moment, the House could itself become u…”
“on indulgence—When the government seeks to have a debate management motion, there's always discussion in the House as to whether or not that is reasonable. In order for us to make sure that we can respect all 150 members of the parliament, there are a number of things that members ordinarily do.”
“Let me start with this: anyone who saw last night on the news that a number of people had tried to enter our country without a visa should know that, by the time they woke up this morning, every single one of them had been removed from Australia—every single one.”
“I thank the member for Leichhardt. I acknowledge the strong role that the member for Leichhardt has had in combating foreign fishing and, in particular, in calling for the work of Border Force that's up there now in Operation BROADSTAFF.”
“This is an amendment about who the deputy chair should be and whether they should be a member of the opposition. The deputy chair of the committee is a member of the opposition; it's Senator Dean Smith.”
The complete record
Every one of 659 lines we hold for Tony Burke, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 12 of 14.
“I think it is fair to say that there is a strong appetite from this parliament and an expectation from the Australian people that that sort of behaviour is just as dangerous and would be considered by the public as just as unparliamentary as the words or the gestures that are already referred to in Practice . What method is best to deal with this? Do you frame it in the positive or do you frame it in the negative? Do you, in fact, need the power, or is there another method? I don't have a fixed view on that, but I do have a very fixed view that, from my conversations with the crossbench—and I'll put it in these terms—we have often seen a situation where people stand when the chamber is full and a pile on occurs, and this is more directed at the crossbench than any other members in this place.”
“I will respond to the amendment itself, and I'll just respond once because there are two amendments that have been circulated. This one deals with giving additional powers to the Speaker by framing things in the negative as to what we want to prevent, and the next one gives similar powers to the Speaker but frames it in terms of what we would want to expect. They frame them differently, but they deal with a similar concept. Anyone who goes through P ractice will see that offensive words are clearly out, offensive gestures are clearly out, but offensive and intimidatory behaviour is not necessarily covered.”
“Allow me to say I am pleased that the opposition have found a minority they support! I am disappointed that it is themselves. I commend the motion to the House.”
“Last time we did a sessional order for the first time to give additional questions for the crossbench. In terms of the numbers of the non-government questions, it was the third, seventh and ninth questions where they came in. Occasionally, we would go very long at question time, which the Prime Minister and I always liked but the rest of the frontbench weren't always as mad keen on the idea as we were. When we would go longer, effectively the opposition would get all of those additional questions and the crossbench would get none, so, where we go beyond 10 questions now, there's an additional question for the crossbench when that would happen. They're the different changes that I have, and I suspect I know the speech that's about to come. If it's like we heard yesterday, it will be about the rights of minorities.”
“The standing order would change so that, for three committees, it would be the committee itself that elects the deputy chair. That does not guarantee that it would be a member of the crossbench, but it creates a pathway for that to happen for the deputy chair's position. They are positions that historically have automatically gone to the opposition, but the number of committees we've chosen to do this for, rather than to do it for all of them, is to make sure that we don't go further than the three-to-one ratio. The committees are the Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water; the Standing Committee on Economics; and the Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability—these would be the three where the committee would choose its deputy chair. The next one is the sessional order.”
“I am supportive of most forms of industrial action, but I find this one particularly odd. There has been some consultation with the Manager of Opposition Business on this, and we will be removing it. Next, we are trying to bring some of the committees up to date with the complexion of the non-government benches in the parliament. Effectively, the non-government benches now are basically not precisely but close to a ratio of three to one in terms of the opposition versus the crossbench. On the positions of deputy chairs on committees, that has meant, under our current standing orders, that the opposition receive every deputy chair's position, and the three-to-one ratio makes no difference with respect to deputy chairs.”
“I was minded to increase it to something approximately the current size of the crossbench, but, in the consultation, the arguments that were put to me were such that I thought that, to be true to the spirit of the consultation, I'd still have an increase but, instead of it being four or fewer, it became six or fewer. So there is still a minor increase there, but I will be upfront; I was aiming higher. The procedure that we have to refer statements to the Federation Chamber gets formalised. It's similar to what we've already been doing. Next, there is a bizarre standing order—there are a few, but we're getting rid of this one—that a member of parliament is allowed to become so attached to their seat that, after an election, they can just say they're staying.”
“Next is something that we've been doing but is not covered under the standing orders, adding to the list of resolutions that can be moved by a minister and then get put without debate, which is to bring on an item of business immediately. The next is the number of votes required for a full division count. If people wonder whether the consultation across the aisle matters, they have the evidence here, because I was going for a much higher number on this. Basically, the rule that we have for when you have to take a full count of a division was put into the standing orders back when the crossbench itself was fewer than five, and, as the crossbench has grown, we have never increased that number.”
“In practice, they can still occur at other times of the day, as is already the case, but that would shift to being the standard time for them. Next is something that was recommended by the Standing Committee on Procedure some time ago: that, Mr Speaker, you be given a new power. Under 94(a), you would have an option of suspending someone for one hour or suspending someone for three hours. This was recommended to me repeatedly during the last term. I strategically waited until Graham Perrett had left the parliament before I was willing to move it! But that was a unanimous recommendation from the procedure committee as part of its inquiry to recommendations 10 and 27 of the Set the standard report.”
“Next, there are some changes to the routine of business for the House and the Federation Chamber, extending the hours of the Federation Chamber, which gives 30 minutes more of government business but 90 minutes more of constituency statements. This is trying to acknowledge something that I've had members from all sides raise with me over time, asking, 'Can we get better use of the Federation Chamber?' in particular for people to be able to talk about issues within their electorate that might not be owed and properly given during other legislative speeches. This would now provide that extra time in both changes for the Federation Chamber. Ministerial statements, which don't happen often, when they do happen would now happen immediately after question time.”
“At the moment, between 12 o'clock and two o'clock on Tuesdays, if a division is called, it doesn't happen until after the MPI that day. That has created some challenges when we've had urgent legislation to get across to the Senate, where the Senate needed to deal with it. Effectively, if a division is called, even though the House as a majority might want to vote for it, it's unable to do so until after the MPI, by which time the procedure of the Senate doesn't actually match the processes here. For those people who are used to, on a Tuesday, taking off between 12 and two, they'd now, under this standing order change, have to remain in the parliament.”
“If the debate is still going, I will move that the question be put, to make sure that we're not delaying the first speeches. In the debate, as is always the case, on whichever of these standing order changes people are supportive of, they will be completely silent, and, by whichever ones they object to, they will be completely outraged. And that's fine! I've done this too. The first change—we have time limits on a series of debates, but there's a general rule for where debate is not otherwise provided for. We've had time limits on speeches but not the debate. That would be a standing one-hour limit. Obviously, it's always open to the House to extend that should the House choose to. Secondly, there are some changes to deferred divisions.”
“(g) During the adjournment debate in the House, on Tuesdays and Thursdays priority shall be given to a crossbench Member seeking the call as the first speaker ( standing order 31 ). (h) During the adjournment debate in the Federation Chamber, every second Thursday priority shall be given to a crossbench Member seeking the call as the first speaker ( standing order 191 ). (i) For the matter of public importance discussion, the Speaker shall have regard to the crossbench proportion of the non-government membership of the House in selecting matters proposed ( standing order 46 ). For the interest of members, I'll go through the standing orders changes that we're having, after which we will have time for debate, so I'll keep my remarks as brief as I can. But I will let members know when it's time for first speeches, just before 10.30.”
“(c) During each period of Members' statements in the Federation Chamber on Mondays, priority shall be given to at least three crossbench Members seeking the call ( standing order 43 ). (d) During each 30 minute period of Members' constituency statements in the Federation Chamber, priority shall be given to at least one crossbench Member seeking the call ( standing order 193 ). (e) During each 60 minute period of Members' constituency statements in the Federation Chamber, priority shall be given to at least two crossbench Members seeking the call ( standing order 193 ). (f) During the grievance debate in the Federation Chamber, every second Tuesday priority shall be given to a crossbench Member seeking the call as the first speaker ( standing order 192B ).”
“SESSIONAL ORDER 65a Opportunities for crossbench Members Consistent with the principle that the call should alternate between government and non-government Members and to enable crossbench Members to receive the call in accordance with the crossbench proportion of the non-government membership of the House: (a) During Question Time, priority shall be given to: (i) a crossbench Member seeking the call on the fifth, thirteenth, seventeenth and twenty-first questions; and (ii) an opposition Member seeking the call on the first, third, seventh, ninth, eleventh, fifteenth, nineteenth, twenty-third, twenty-fifth, twenty-seventh, and twenty-ninth questions. (b) During each period of Members' statements in the House, priority shall be given to at least two crossbench Members seeking the call ( standing order 43 ).”
“267 Addresses moved (a) A Minister may move an address to the Sovereign or the Governor-General after notice, except in cases of urgency (b) A Minister may move without notice an address of congratulation or condolence to members of the Royal Family. 268 Addresses to Queen given to Governor-General The Speaker shall give to the Governor-General addresses to the Sovereign or to members of the Royal Family, and ask the Governor-General to send the addresses for presentation.”
“232 Appointment of committee Chair and deputy Chair (a) Before the start of business and at any time a vacancy occurs, a committee shall be informed of the name of the member who has been appointed by the Prime Minister to be its Chair. The Chair shall have a casting vote only. (b) A committee shall elect a member as its deputy Chair. Except as otherwise provided, the deputy Chair shall be a non-government member. The deputy Chair shall act as Chair of the committee whenever the Chair is not present at a meeting. If neither the Chair nor deputy Chair is present at a meeting, the members present shall elect another member to act as Chair at the meeting.”
“(iii) The period during which an inquiry into an annual report may be started by a committee shall end on the day the next annual report of the department or authority is presented to the House. (iv) If a committee intends to inquire into all or part of a report of the Auditor-General, the committee must notify the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit of its intention, in writing. (d) Each committee appointed under paragraph (a) shall consist of 10 members (six government Members, three opposition Members and one crossbench Member). Each committee may have its membership supplemented by up to four members for a particular inquiry, with a maximum of two extra government and two extra opposition or crossbench Members. Supplementary members shall have the same participatory rights as other members, but may not vote.”
“(b) A committee appointed under paragraph (a) may inquire into and report on any matter referred to it by either the House or a Minister, including any pre-legislation proposal, bill, motion, petition, vote or expenditure, other financial matter, report or document. (c) A committee may make any inquiry it wishes to make into annual reports of government departments and authorities and reports of the Auditor-General presented to the House. The following qualifications shall apply to these inquiries: (i) Reports shall stand referred to committees under a schedule presented by the Speaker to record the areas of responsibility of each committee. (ii) The Speaker shall determine any question about responsibility for a report or part of a report.”
“The period for Members' constituency statements may continue for 30 minutes on Mondays or 60 minutes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, irrespective of suspensions for divisions in the House. 215 General purpose standing committees (a) The following general purpose standing committees shall be appointed: (i) Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water; (ii) Standing Committee on Communications, the Arts and Sport; (iii) Standing Committee on Economics; (iv) Standing Committee on Education (v) Standing Committee on Employment, Workplace Relations, Skills and Training; (vi) Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability; (vii) Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation and Science; (viii) Standing Committee on Primary Industries; (ix) Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport; and (x) Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs.”
“192b Grievance debate (a) The order of the day for the grievance debate stands referred to the Federation Chamber and shall be taken as the first item of business each Tuesday. (b) After the Deputy Speaker proposes the question— That grievances be noted any Member may address the Federation Chamber or move any amendment to the question. When debate is interrupted after one hour or if it concludes earlier, the Deputy Speaker shall adjourn the debate on the motion, and the resumption of the debate shall be made an order of the day for the next sitting. 193 Members' three minute constituency statements During the period for constituency statements by Members, the Deputy Speaker may call a Member to make a constituency statement for no longer than three minutes.”
“[and see standing order 85 in relation to urgent bills] 175 House bills presented to Governor-General When a House bill has finally passed both Houses, the Clerk shall certify this and the Speaker shall present the bill to the Governor-General for the Sovereign's assent in accordance with section 58 of the Constitution 192 Federation Chamber's indicative order of business The normal order of business of the Federation Chamber is set out in figure 4. Figure 4. Federation Chamber indicative order of business The meeting times of the Federation Chamber are fixed by the Deputy Speaker and are subject to change. Times shown for the start and finish of items of business are approximate. Adjournment debates can occur on days other than Thursdays by agreement between the Whips.”
“(b) On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, any division called for from 6.30 pm until the adjournment of the House shall be deferred until the first opportunity the next sitting day, except for a division called on a motion to suspend any standing or other order of the House moved by a Minister during this period or any division necessary to resolve the question on such a motion. (c) Standing orders 80 and 81 shall not apply during a period of deferred divisions. (d) The Speaker shall put all questions on which a division has been deferred, successively and without amendment or further debate.”
“(f) The duration of each question is limited to 30 seconds. 127 Six or fewer Members on a side If, after the doors are locked, there are six or fewer Members on one side in a division, the Speaker shall declare the decision of the House immediately, without completing the count. The names of the Members who are in the minority shall be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings. 133 Deferred divisions on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays (a) On Mondays, any division called for between the hours of 10 am and 12 noon shall be deferred until 12 noon, except for a division called on a motion to suspend any standing or other order of the House moved by a Minister during this period or any division necessary to resolve the question on such a motion.”
“(c) For questions regarding persons: (i) questions must not reflect on or be critical of the character or conduct of a Member, a Senator, the Sovereign, the Governor General, a State Governor, or a member of the judiciary: their conduct may only be challenged on a substantive motion; and (ii) questions critical of the character or conduct of other persons must be in writing. (d) Questions must not contain: (i) statements of facts or names of persons, unless they can be authenticated and are strictly necessary to make the question intelligible; (ii) arguments; (iii) inferences; (iv) imputations; (iv) insults; (v) ironical expressions; or (vii) hypothetical matter. (e) Questions must not refer to debates in the current session, or to proceedings of a committee not reported to the House.”
“Exclusion from Chamber and Federation Chamber (e) A Member who is subject to a direction to leave the Chamber for one or three hours, or a suspension for 24 hours or more, shall be excluded from the Chamber, its galleries and the room in which the Federation Chamber is meeting. Removal of Member (f) If a Member refuses to follow the Speaker's direction, the Speaker may order the Serjeant-at-Arms to remove the Member from the Chamber or the Federation Chamber or take the Member into custody. 100 Rules for questions The following general rules apply to all questions: (a) Questions must not be debated. (b) A question fully answered must not be asked again.”
“Term of suspension (d) If a Member is named and suspended, the term of the suspension shall be: (i) on the first occasion, for the 24 hour period from the time of suspension; (ii) on the second occasion during the same calendar year, for the three consecutive sittings following the day of suspension; and (iii) on a third or later occasion during the same calendar year, for the seven consecutive sittings following the day of suspension. A suspension in a previous session or a direction to leave the Chamber for one or three hours shall be disregarded in the calculation of these terms.”
“Urgent action (c) If the Speaker determines there is an urgent need to protect the dignity of the House, the Speaker can order a grossly disorderly Member to leave the Chamber immediately. When the Member has left, the Speaker must immediately name the Member and paragraph (b) shall apply; except that the Speaker shall put the question for suspension without a motion being necessary. If the question is resolved in the negative, the Member may return to the Chamber.”
“94 Sanctions against disorderly conduct The Speaker can take action against disorderly conduct by a Member: Direction to leave the Chamber (a) The Speaker can direct a disorderly Member to leave the Chamber for: (i) one hour; or (ii) three hours, where there is continued or escalating disorderly conduct. The direction shall not be open to debate or dissent, and if the Member does not leave the Chamber immediately, the Speaker can name the Member under the following procedure. Member named and suspended (b) The Speaker can name a disorderly Member. Immediately following a naming, on a motion being moved, the Speaker shall put the question— That the Member be suspended from the service of the House. The question must be resolved without amendment, adjournment or debate.”
“Should any of these questions be negatived, no similar proposal shall be received if the Speaker is of the opinion that it is an abuse of the orders or forms of the House, or is moved for the purpose of obstructing business. 80 Closure of a Member speaking If a Member is speaking, other than when moving the terms of a motion, another Member may move— That the Member be no longer heard. The question must be put immediately and resolved without amendment or debate. 88 Use of certain names A Member must not refer disrespectfully to the Sovereign, the Governor-General, or a State Governor, in debate or for the purpose of influencing the House in its deliberations.”
“78 Matters not open to debate The following questions and motions are not open to debate, must be moved without comment and must be put immediately and resolved without amendment: (a) motion that a Member's time be extended (standing order 1 ); (b) motion that a specific item of government business be called on immediately ( standing order 45(c)); (c) motion that the business of the day be called on ( standing order 46(e) ); (d) motion that a Member be heard now ( standing order 65 ); (e) motion that a Member be further heard ( standing order 75 ); (f) motion that debate be adjourned ( standing order 79 ); (g) motion that a Member be no longer heard ( standing order 80 ); (h) motion that the question be now put ( standing order 81 ); (i) question that the bill be considered urgent, following a declaration of urgency ( standing order 82 ); (j) motion that a Member be suspended ( standing order 94 ); (k) question that amendments made by the Federation Chamber be agreed to ( standing order 153 ); (l) question that a bill reported from the Federation Chamber be agreed to ( standing order 153 ); (m) motion that further proceedings on a bill be conducted in the House ( standing order 197 ); (n) question in the Federation Chamber that a bill be reported to the House ( standing order 198 ).”
“(c) When there is no question before the House, a Minister may move, without notice, that a government business notice or order of the day be called on immediately. The question must be put immediately and resolved without amendment or debate. 50b Further statements (a) Following a statement on a significant matter (standing order 50a) or a statement by indulgence of the Chair, a Minister may move, without notice, that further statements be permitted in the House or Federation Chamber. (b) The Minister may specify a time for the conclusion of further statements.”
“34 Order of business The order of business to be followed by the House is shown in figure 2. Figure 2. House order of business 45 Order of government business and programming declarations (a) The Leader of the House may arrange the order of notices and orders of the day for government business on the Notice Paper as he or she thinks fit. (b) The Leader of the House or the Chief Government Whip may make a programming declaration in the House in relation to one or more items of government business. The declaration may refer a government business order of the day to the Federation Chamber, or may require a government business order of the day to be returned from the Federation Chamber for further consideration in the House. The matter must be set down for consideration at a later hour that day.”
“… dissolution means the ending of the House, and therefore the Parliament, by the Governor-General before the expiration of three years from the first sitting of the House after a general election. … 9 When Governor-General does not attend (a) If the Sovereign attends a meeting to declare the causes for the calling together of Parliament, references to the Governor-General in this chapter shall be read as references to the Sovereign. (b) If the Governor-General appoints a Deputy in accordance with section 126 of the Constitution to announce the causes for the calling together of Parliament, references to the Governor-General in this chapter shall be read as references to the Deputy. 24 Seats for Members The Speaker shall determine any dispute about the seats occupied by Members.”
“As is also standard on the second day of a new parliament, the government is putting forward a series of amendments to the standing orders and a proposed sessional order. For new members, the difference is that the sessional order will apply to the 48th Parliament only, and the standing orders changes are ongoing. I move: That standing orders 1, 2, 9, 24, 34, 45, 78, 80, 88, 94, 100, 127, 133, 175, 192, 192B, 193, 215, 232, 267 and 268 be amended, standing order 50B be adopted, and sessional order 65A (Opportunities for crossbench Members) be adopted for the remainder of the session, as follows: 1 Maximum speaking times The maximum time limits that apply to debates, speeches and statements are as follows. 2 Definitions The following meanings apply throughout these standing orders.”
“I move: That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent: (1) the Selection Committee: (a) meeting on or after today, if necessary by teleconference, to determine the order of consideration of matters and the times allotted for debate on each item and for each Member speaking, for private Members' business and committee and delegation business, for Monday, 28 July 2025; (b) communicating its determinations to Members prior to that Monday; and (c) reporting its determinations to the House following Prayers on Monday, 28 July 2025; (2) the Selection Committee's determinations being shown in the Notice Paper for that Monday under 'Business Accorded Priority' for the House and Federation Chamber; and (3) in the absence of a fully constituted Selection Committee, the arrangements for private Members' business for Monday, 28 July 2025 provided for in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this resolution being determined by the Speaker, Chief Government Whip and Chief Opposition Whip and reports of such determinations being treated as having been adopted by the House when they are presented.”
“For the information of members, before I speak to the item, I let people know that both the bills that have just been introduced have a level of urgency to them. Members should expect a couple of late nights to be scheduled next week to facilitate that. I expect, given the nature of those issues, we will not be able to fully accommodate everyone, and so I'll talk to the Manager of Opposition Business and the crossbench to work out whether or not we subsequently do a take-note debate on each of the bills so we can still get them across to the Senate but make sure that there's an opportunity for members who want to speak. This is a standard motion that deals with the fact that we need a little bit more time to get private members' business ready for Monday of next week, and it's to allow that.”
“We have many days where we see the parliament at its worst or at its best. I think one of the extraordinary things is that today we finally have a parliament where anyone in Australia, no matter what they're going through or what their background is, who looks at it can see someone in this House of whom they can say, 'That person would understand what I'm going through.' In all my terms, I'm not sure that we've had that before. The 48th Parliament is one day down, but I think we're off to a start. House adjourned at 19:44”
“I move: That leave of absence from the determination of this sitting until 27 November 2025 be given to the honourable Member for Holt for parental leave purposes. I wish the honourable member very well for her time with Ilia, and I look forward to when she returns to the chamber. Question agreed to.”
“I present a document showing the proposed parliamentary sittings for the remainder of 2025. Copies have been placed on the table. I ask leave of the House to move that the program be agreed to. Leave granted. I move: That the proposed parliamentary sittings for 2025 be agreed to. Question agreed to.”
“I'm going to presume that there will not be a backflip in the Senate. The opposition are now saying they'll support some of these measures that they have previously opposed. I'm going to welcome that. If they are consistent between 10 minutes to five in the afternoon and midnight tonight, and if they don't change their position between those hours, then we will get something through that the government has been trying to get through for months and months. I hope that is the case, and on the basis that that's the case and that we can take the opposition at their word, I'm happy to support the resolution and to see the passage of this legislation go through to the Senate. Question agreed to.”
“But I'm saying to the opposition now: if you're ever going to say, 'Oh, we'll just have a disagreement between the houses,' you can't do that today because we all know that these houses won't be sitting in their current form for too much longer. We all know that the Senate is not sitting on Thursday. In supporting this, we take the Opposition at their word that they are now supporting the entire bill. If that's not what happens in the Senate, we'll be in a situation where there is not an agreement between the houses and there is no way of resolving it. The action of the opposition right now is potentially the only reason we don't have a way of getting it through. So I'm going to take the opposition at their word. I'm going to take them in good faith. They have said they will support the whole bill.”
“The other issues include the deductibility of interest payments for late payment and the luxury car tax adjustment, if it is as it appears from the speeches. The capacity for amendments and disagreement between the houses is not actually with us because the Senate doesn't sit tomorrow. So I just want to be really clear. The opposition is making a decision now, in moving this, that they will support the whole bill in the Senate. Anything other than that will mean that this particular procedure will have prevented the instant asset write-off from being carried. That's what it will mean. They want to progress the government agenda. I'm happy to progress it. Up until this moment that has not been their position.”
“At the time, on the date in February—I've just asked some people about the context of that—(1) at that point we were not confident that we had support in the Senate; and (2) on that same day we were trying to get the three-day guarantee with respect to early childhood education through. The upending of the program was something that we weren't willing to do that day. My understanding, from the speeches that have been said, is that we now have the support of the opposition for that whole bill. That was not previously the understanding of the government. There are other measures in that bill as well as the instant asset write-off. That day, as I've said, there was an issue with the upending of the program, as I've been advised; I've gone back through it.”
“First of all I'd like to clarify a couple of things that have been said in debate. It is common that tax law bills do remain in the House until we have an agreement in the Senate. We put lots of legislation through the House as quickly as we can, and then the Senate does amendments. A lot of amendments for anything that involves appropriations or revenue issues can't be done in the Senate. So it is not uncommon at all for bills of that nature to be kept in the House until we have a situation where we believe there is passage in the Senate. Then they go through here fairly quickly and go across.”
“It's so good to get a question from them on net overseas migration because, if there is ever a gap between their rhetoric and what they have done, it's on this issue. The latest figures that came out only last week showed a 31 per cent fall in net overseas migration year on year. A particularly fast-growing area of net overseas migration had been student visas. The government's action on student visas also showed a 31 per cent fall. But, when we put that measure to the parliament, which way did they vote on student visas? They voted for student visas to be unlimited. While this government has taken action, you don't like it, do you? It's terribly sad. But it's the record you're responsible for, and there's a lot more to come. There's plenty more to come.”
“Aged-care workers, funded through this budget for pay rises, know that he'll cut and they'll pay. Early child educators working in child care know that that extra funding in the budget, criticised by those opposite—he'll cut and they'll pay. Gig workers, some of the lowest paid workers in this country, know that he'll cut and they'll pay. The only cuts he doesn't support are tax cuts.”
“In the budget last night, the government's made clear that we'll take on those noncompete clauses, because there are lots of things that an employer can lawfully do, but they should not be able to prevent you from getting the next job. Workers across Australia know what these policy changes have meant for them. Same job, same pay—flight attendants know what it's meant for them. Mining workers know what it's meant for them. Gig workers know that there's a government here that believes we shouldn't be a country where you have to rely on tips to make ends meet, yet those opposite believe that there should be no minimum standards at all for gig workers. Flight attendants know that he'll cut and they'll pay. Mine workers know that he'll cut and they'll pay. Anyone on award or minimum wage knows that he'll cut and they'll pay.”
“Every one of them went, in different ways, to undoing what we've done to get wages moving, perhaps the most iconic being removing the right to disconnect. As the Prime Minister noted a few minutes ago on the right to disconnect, they don't actually object to you working from home; they just object to you being paid when you're working from home. That's the bit that they've got a problem with. Because what's happened with wages? When they were in office, in their final five quarters, real wages fell in every one of those five quarters. For the last five quarters, in every single one of those quarters real wages have grown. Workers as well have been held back because of noncompete clauses, where the current employer can actually prevent you from going to somewhere where you would earn more.”
“I want to thank the member for Reid because the workers in the electorate of Reid earn more because of the actions of the member for Reid, and they keep more of what they earn because of the votes of the member for Reid here in this chamber, which is not the case for every member of this chamber. Because, on everything about how much people earn in Australia and on how much they get to keep of what they earn, you have found members on this side voting in favour of people earning more and keeping more of what they earn and those opposite voting for lower wages and to hike taxes. They've done it the whole term and right through to today. There were a series of policies that they'd already announced.”