WORKPLACE RELATIONS AMENDMENT (WORK CHOICES) BILL 2005
Suspension of Standing Orders Speech

Senator JOYCE (Queensland) (9.48 a.m.)—I think we should go through the whole iconic public holiday scenario so that we get it clearly on the record. It is illegal—

Interjection
The PRESIDENT—Order! Senator Joyce, the motion is in relation to suspension of standing orders. I draw your attention to that.

Interjection
Senator Chris Evans—On a point of order, Mr President: if he wants to speak on the bill, he has to put his name on the list.

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Senator JOYCE—We should continue on and get this legislation bedded down. We have had innumerable debates. We have also secured some major amendments protecting the iconic public holidays. The National Party has saved Christmas. The National Party has saved Good Friday.

Interjection
Senator Murray—Mr President, I rise on a point of order. We do not have the amendments before us; we do not know what the senator is talking about.

Interjection
The PRESIDENT—The senator is having his five-minutes worth on the suspension of standing orders, and I remind him that that is the question we are debating.

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Senator JOYCE—I acknowledge that, Mr President, and I return to the issue that we should suspend standing orders. We should guillotine this debate and get on with it, do our job and get this piece of legislation bedded down. There is only one way this argument is going to be won or lost, and that is over the next year and a half when the sky does not fall, when people are still collecting their pay packets and when their standard of living goes up. They will be able to turn around and reflect on those who declared that the wolf who was going to come and gobble them up. The wolf has not actually turned up. Those people are going to look a bit foolish. I think it is about time we avoided this procrastination. Apart from theatrics, there is no purpose to it.

It is great to see the debate carrying on, but I think it is about time that we get to some of these amendments, which will be tabled. You will be able to see what the National Party has extracted in this debate and you will be able to see that the default mechanism will be a fortnight, that the loopholes and unfair dismissal laws will be closed up, that public holidays will be covered and that the seven amendments that the committee brought forward will go forward. It will be clear to everybody that the government has a direction—the government is prepared to lead. People vote for people who lead; they do not vote for people who follow. The government is leading, and it is going to lead forward with this piece of legislation. In due course people will realise, as their standard of living goes up and as they become wealthier, that it is was right for us to go forward with this debate, to close this debate down and to take it to a committee stage.

We have listened to the mindless ramblings of Senator Brown and others on the other side as they prostrated themselves and frothed at the mouth as they talked about how the sky will fall. We need the committee stage to start so that we can get stuck into the theatrics. We need some purpose, and the only purpose they can get is volume. There has never been a constructive amendment suggested by the Labor Party. They want to throw the whole thing out. They believed a couple of weeks ago that, when the Senate obstructed supply in 1975, it was the most evil thing on earth. But apparently now the Senate can throw out legislation holus-bolus.

Interjection
Senator Sterle interjecting—

Interjection
The PRESIDENT—Senator Sterle, come to order! I have let you have a good go. I think it is about time you let the senator continue with his debate.

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Senator JOYCE—I look forward to the committee stage, when we can listen to some more mindless ramblings. I look forward to Senator Brown standing up, putting the whales back in the ocean and giving himself some sort of purpose in life. I look forward to the Labor Party not suggesting any amendments but just suggesting that the Senate should be some sort of obstructionist house that never actually goes forward with a policy, that never actually delivers on anything. But they will ultimately see that the government is a government that leads and comes up with a constructive path for the future. The government will get re-elected, those on the other side will still be in opposition and the world will go on. Let us get the guillotine in. Let us get this piece of legislation through. Let us bed it down. Let us go forward.