Business Statement

Next week in the House priority will be given to the Committee stage of the Income Tax Bill. Following the conclusion of that, urgency will be taken. An email has gone to all party whips outlining the business to be included in the urgency motion. Urgency will certainly not go beyond 6 o’clock on Friday.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: Before Mr Brownlee comments, I would like to refer to a matter that occurred yesterday in the House. I would like to ask Mr Brownlee whether he made a disparaging remark about the Chair as he left the House.

💬 Gerry Brownlee: Sorry?

💬 Mr SPEAKER: A remark was made by the member when he was asked to leave the House. Did he make a disparaging remark about the Chair at the time?

No. I made a remark about a course of action that I intended to pursue. I have done that.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: That ends the matter.

Given that the Leader of the House has published the urgency motion, which has a reasonable amount of business in it, and noting that much of that business is hardly of the urgent nature that urgency would portend, can we expect that provision will be made for question time on Wednesday and Thursday of next week—noting, of course, that the Government at this time would have no fears about being placed under scrutiny by the Opposition?

Certainly, the latter is true. However, to come to the point raised by the member, as is always the case, that is a matter for discussion between myself and the other parties. Of course, if we finish by 1 o’clock on Wednesday, or by 1 o’clock on Thursday, question time will follow automatically.

Given that Easter is soon to be upon us, and that for the umpteenth time nothing has been done in respect of giving the local community a chance to trade on Easter Sunday, can I ask Dr Cullen whether the Government intends to give that legislation any priority, at all?

The bill that deals with Easter Sunday trading is a member’s bill. It would be open to the member to seek leave to take that bill under urgency at the conclusion of Government business in the urgency motion. I, for one, certainly would not oppose that.

I so move.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to have that bill considered as part of the urgency motion, at the end of the other listed items. Is there any objection? There is objection.