Employment Relations Amendment Bill (No 2)

I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. We had a member on her feet trying to take a call before the vote was put.

The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker): I understand that the debate on Part 2 included clauses 39 and 40 and schedules 1 and 2. They are not separate debates. Therefore, we will now have the vote on each provision.

I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I think we have a bugger’s muddle here. We went on to a debate on Part 3. How could we possibly be in this situation? I think we might have to be in a recommittal phase fairly soon, if we have not worked our way through this one properly. How could we possibly have started a debate on Part 3 without finishing? We cannot then go back. I accept we had closures. It might have been that you have missed the vote, but if the votes have been missed and we are going to go back and reopen issues, including schedule 2—and I accept that there has been some debate on schedule 2—and if votes were not taken, in error, then I think we are in a position where we have to recommit that question.

The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker): I thank the member. I will just take some advice from the Clerk. I say to the member that my advice is that the Part 3 debate the member refers to was ruled out of order. There is no Part 3 in the bill. My advice from the Clerk is that we started having votes on Part 2. The vote on the substance of Part 2 has ended, and we are now having the votes on the schedules attached to Part 2. Once that is completed, we will then go on to the next part, and the next question before the Committee will be clauses 1 to 3.

I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I think the problem that we have is that there has been a clear error here because a debate was accepted on new Part 3. That has been well-established here and in the House. It was wrongly accepted, I think both sides now accept. But what happened was that some votes were not taken. New Part 3 was called by the Chair and you are absolutely right as to the sequence. But the question is whether a closure can apply over a period when another debate has been called. I do not want to be too critical of the Chair at the time, and it was now quite a few hours ago, but it is my very firm view that a closure does not apply if there has been an interruption and we have moved to a subsequent debate.

Therefore, although it is a relatively narrow debate, and I discovered it was narrow because I started debating it myself earlier on, quite incorrectly as Mr Woodhouse pointed out, we have to find a way of sorting this out. But the closure cannot just apply 6 hours after it actually occurred. If the closure was to occur properly, then the Speaker would have put us back into Committee, notwithstanding the fact that we had reached 1 o’clock, and we would have had the vote. If the closure applied, then we just keep on having the votes and have our lunchtime at the end of those votes.

The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Rick Barker): I have heard enough. I have had several pieces of advice. The member’s referring to Part 3 is irrelevant. Part 3 is ruled out of order. It is as though it never existed. It has gone. It is not a matter before this Committee. The second point is that my advice from the Clerk is that there was no closure motion. The closure motion does not apply. The issue the member is raising about a closure is a complete red herring. It is irrelevant. It is here to confuse and cause distraction. There is no closure; we are not dealing with that.

Let us come back to the fact. The fact is that a vote was started. It was incomplete at the time the Committee rose for luncheon. There is no problem with that. Votes were before the Committee before it rose for lunch, and now the Committee has resumed and we are completing the votes. We are completing the votes on the schedules. There is no debate on the schedules. They are included in the original motion. The confusion of members is entirely of their own making. Without further ado I am now going to put the vote on schedule 2 and once that is completed I will then call for clauses 1 to 3.