It is proposed to take No. 1 on the Order Paper.
Order of Business.
I should like to ask the Leader of the House what hours of sitting he proposes for today and what is the intention if speakers are still offering at 5 p.m. or 10 p.m.
It is intended to complete the debate today with the agreement of the House. If there is general agreement, I suggest we rise for lunch from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., carry on from then until the debate is concluded, that the Minister be called on to reply at 5 o'clock or at a later time as the debate proceeds, but that we finish definitely before 10 p.m.
This presumes, from the remarks of the Leader of the House, that we sit through the night, if necessary, to finish.
Yes.
Is there any urgency? If there is a sufficient number of Senators offering at 5 o'clock, why not leave the debate over until next week? Surely there is no great urgency attached to this motion. The debate as it has progressed has given Members plenty of scope, and no Senator should be inhibited in expressing his views in these troubled times.
Nobody is trying to inhibit anybody but we must have some order, some sense of discipline and regulation. I do not see any reason why, if those who are still willing to speak do not take up an unreasonable amount of time, we should not be able to finish this debate by tonight.
I remember that, when we agreed before Christmas to pass the Appropriation Bill without debate, the Leader of the House told us—I believe he means it—that there would be no limit on the speeches. I do not mind, if I have to, waiting until midnight to speak, but it is more convenient for everybody, and fairer from the point of publicity which Members' remarks may get, if they are not obliged to speak in the middle of the night. It is wrong that they, having made this concession before Christmas without the slightest argument, should be asked now to sit until perhaps 3 o'clock in the morning when all the Members who wish to speak have finished.
I am sure the pearls of wisdom will come long before 3 a.m. I do not think it will last that long anyhow. Let us carry on and see how we get on.
Does that mean that the House's decision in regard to this debate is being deferred for the moment?
Until 7 p.m. if necessary.
My proposition is that we carry on until 5 p.m., see how many speakers are still left and then decide for how long it will be necessary to continue.
Is the Order of Business agreed?
Yes, on the understanding that the question of the further business of the House will be discussed again at 5 p.m. unless the business is terminated earlier.