Urgency

I move, That urgency be accorded the introduction and all stages of the Imprest Supply (Second for 2024/25) Bill and the third reading of the Appropriation (2024/25 Estimates) Bill; the remaining stages of the Education and Training Amendment Bill; the interrupted debate on the instruction to committee for the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No 2), and the amendment proposed to it; the introduction, first reading, and referral to select committee of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) (Customary Marine Title) Amendment Bill and the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill; the third reading of the Corrections Amendment Bill; the first reading and referral to select committee of the Sentencing (Reform) Amendment Bill and the District Court (District Court Judges) Amendment Bill; and the second reading of the Contracts of Insurance Bill.

Members will be aware that the House lost a sitting day when we adjourned at the start of this sitting block. With tomorrow originally having been scheduled to be a members’ day, this urgency motion is required to get a variety of first readings off to select committee, as well as passing three important pieces of legislation. The alternative, being honest with the House, is that we would have been moving urgency on Thursday afternoon, going into Friday, and I suspect I have the agreement of the House in saying that people would not be keen on that because of the members’ day.

Under the Standing Orders, we’re required to pass the third reading of the Estimates bill this sitting week, which is within four months of its first reading. We’re also passing the Education and Training Amendment Bill to give charter schools enough lead time to open by term 1 next year. So there is some time pressure on having that bill passed. There are four first readings, two of which have shortened report-backs than normal, and we want to make sure that select committees with those bills have as much time as practically possible. We’ve also made a commitment to pass the Corrections Amendment Bill this quarter, and we want to proceed through the next stage of the Contracts of Insurance Bill, which does have quite widespread support across the House, and we want to see prompt progress on this.