Pocock,who is part of the independent push for a stronger emissions-reduction target,also vowed to put “restoring integrity in politics” at the top of his agenda as Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus consults on the national corruption watchdog Labor has promised to set up by year’s end.
In a melding of Westminster and Australian tradition,the sitting will open with a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony and a gun salute for Governor-General David Hurley,who will conduct an Inspection of the Guard before ascending to the Senate chamber to make a speech about the priorities of the new government.
No legislation will be tabled on the first sitting day,which is devoted to ceremony and electing a Speaker of the House – widely expected to be Queensland Labor MP Milton Dick.
It is a constitutional requirement for a Speaker to be elected before any Parliamentary business takes place.
The Speaker then presents himself to the governor-general,who grants them the authority to administer the oath to any members unable to make it to parliament to be sworn in that day.
Other ceremonial activities include a fanfare – a short musical flourish played by trumpets – in the Parliament’s Great Hall and an afternoon reception with the Governor-General in the Members’ Hall for MPs and senators.
A Motion of Condolence is likely to be moved in the House of Representatives this week to honour the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,who was assassinated on July 8.
The Address in Reply,the formal acknowledgement by the House to the Governor-General for the speech given at an opening of Parliament,is expected to begin on Tuesday night.
Printed on goatskin parchment,the Address is signed by the Speaker and the clerk of the House and presented for a debate that can last several days.
This is when the dozens of new MPs and senators are expected to start making their first speeches.
There are 35 new lower house MPs including teal independents Kylea Tink,Zoe Daniel,Sophie Scamps,Monique Ryan,Kate Chaney and Allegra Spender.
Other first speeches to watch include Fowler MP Dai Le,the independent who won the seat from Labor’s former foreign affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally.
New Labor MPs include Sally Sitou,who won the seat of Reid from former Liberal MP Fiona Martin.
Among the new senators are Indigenous women NT Country Liberal Jacinta Price,South Australian Liberal Kerrynne Liddle and Victorian Labor’s Jana Stewart.
The Greens have three new lower house MPs – Stephen Bates,Max Chandler-Mather and Elizabeth Watson-Brown,all from Brisbane – and three new senators.
The government is expected to begin introducing legislation on Wednesday and Thursday.
Steggall said she hoped for “slightly more productive politics” than during the 46th parliament and that the Albanese government must implement all recommendations of the Jenkins review into parliamentary workplaces,following allegations of sexual misconduct.
Crossbenchers are also pushing for Albanese to reverse cuts to their staffing allocations.
The Greens will pressure the government over new coal and gas mines “which will make the climate crisis worse” and demand Albanese drop the stage 3 tax cuts for people earning more than $200,000 a year,legislated by the former government.
The Coalition is expected to use question time to attack the government on soaring electricity prices,its policy costings,its approach to dealing with the threat of foot and mouth disease,and its hesitancy to reintroduce COVID-19 disaster payments.
Loading
Manager of opposition business Paul Fletcher said the Albanese government’s early performance raised concerns and that “we will be doing our job as an effective opposition to scrutinise the government’s policies”.
“To hold the government to account through the scrutiny of question time and other parliamentary processes is very important,” Fletcher said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will push the government on its election promise to deliver lower electricity prices as gas and electricity shortages put the grid under pressure.
Fletcher said the Coalition would “need to look at the detail before we state our position” on government legislation but was expected to vote against the climate bill after taking a 26-28 per cent emissions-reduction target to the election.
“We’ll be guided by particularly where we’ve stated election commitments and positions,” Fletcher said.
The climate bill is expected to be referred to a Senate committee.
The Coalition declined to match Labor’s election pledge to introduce 10 days of paid domestic violence leave,a policy championed by the Greens.
The opposition is expected to support the first of the government’s aged care bills,which will be based on the former Morrison government’s legislation that failed to pass before the election – enshrining the first stage of minimum staffing requirements and a new funding model.
A second aged care bill implementing Labor’s more ambitious reforms – including putting a registered nurse in every facility,24 hours a day,by July 2023 – will likely require Greens and crossbench support in the Senate.
Loading
Negotiating with the Senate crossbench can be unpredictable,with One Nation and the Jacqui Lambie Network – each controlling two votes,after former Lambie staffer Tammy Tyrrell won a Senate seat – known to hold their cards close and drive a hard bargain.
New United Australia Party Senator Ralph Babet,who has said that “climate science is not settled” and opposes emission reduction targets,has vowed to fight for a two-term limit for MPs,a bill of rights and stronger privacy laws.