Crossbench says parliament rule could gag them during climate debate

North Sydney MP Kylea Tink has called for the Albanese government to prioritise the first speeches of independent MPs so they can to contribute to debate of the government’s climate change legislation.

The new House of Representatives has to get through some 15 hours of first speeches and Tink is one of several crossbenchers worried they’ll be at the end of the list – which would effectively gag them because of a rule that says lower house members can’t contribute to debate before they make their speech.

Incoming crossbenchers Monique Ryan, Zoe Daniel, Kate Chaney, Kylea Tink, Dai Le, Libby Watson-Brown, Sophie Scamps and Allegra Spender arrive at Parliament House for the first time as MPs.Credit:James Brickwood

There are 35 new MPs in the parliament, who are each given 20 to 25 minutes for their first speech – a chance to outline their background and indicate policy priorities – and the government is aiming to get through them by late October.

However, parliament returns on July 26 and the government plans to introduce its climate action bill as a priority, along with paid domestic violence leave and creating a new jobs agency.

Tink, who has backed a 50-60 per cent emissions cut by 2030, told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age to not enable independent MPs to have a voice in the first four weeks to debate climate or other policy “is very disempowering”.

Independent MP Kylea TinkCredit:Kate Geraghty

She said there was a need to prioritise independents’ first speeches so their communities were represented in debate.

“Without us being empowered to have a voice in parliament, there is actually nobody speaking on that day for our communities.”

The call from Tink comes after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday lashed the Greens for blocking a decade of inaction on climate change, after they voted down Labor’s carbon pricing scheme in 2009.

Greens leader Adam Bandt returned fire on Wednesday, criticising the “ultimatum” from Albanese to back Labor’s 43 per cent reduction target and arguing that neither the Greens, nor Labor, might get everything they want in negotiations in the Senate over the bill.

“We’re prepared to have those discussions in good faith but at the moment it’s this take-it-or-leave-it approach that I think has had its day,” he said.

Tink said she understood why the government is set on pursuing the 43 per cent target.

“For me, what I need is assurances that it’s going to be the floor and that they will do everything they can over and above that, to achieve better than that,” she said.

Independent member for Fowler Dai Le said the difficulties in accommodating all the speeches had been acknowledged by the government but not resolved.

“How are all of the 35 MPs going to be slotted in to get their first speech in the next few weeks? And then if in that week there is already legislation and it comes to the floor to be debated, that means we can’t [debate it].”

There is no similar rule preventing senators from speaking in debate before they officially make their first speeches, as long as they preface their remarks with: “This is not my first speech”.

Labor chief whip Joanne Ryan said she was working with her Coalition counterpart, Bert Van Manen, to ensure all new MPs had delivered their first speech before the budget in October.

“For some parliamentarians, they would prefer to do it in the second block of sitting weeks and some want to do it in the first block of sitting weeks,” she said.

Many crossbenchers were worried about commenting publicly and jeopardising negotiations, as they have already had a public stoush with the government over the allocation of staffers.

The independents have also been told that, at this stage, the government plans to grant them up to three questions per question time, proportional to their numbers in the parliament.

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