Old and new pollies arrived in Canberra for the opening of the 47th Parliament on Tuesday, a traditionally ceremonial day involving the election of the new Speaker and Senate President and swearing in of newly-elected MPs and Senators.

Wednesday saw the new Albanese ministry take on their first Question Time, and Coalition MPs take up their seats on the Opposition benches for the first time in more than nine years.

It was a short but busy sitting week, with the Government wasting no time in implementing some of their signature election commitments. 

Keen to stay up to date with what’s playing out in the nation’s capital but short on time? Aren’t we all! That’s why we’ve summarised the week’s major happenings below – you can expect our Parliament wrap to hit your inbox every Friday after a sitting week.

Here’s what you need to know.

Bills, bills, bills

The Prime Minister has said his Government will have a large legislative agenda this Parliament, and with a short first sitting week and the winter recess coming up in August, there was no time to waste. The Government will introduce no less than 18 pieces of legislation this sitting period, many of them fulfilling election commitments.

Those priorities include:

• legislating the Government’s 43 per cent emissions reduction target
• watering down, before eventually abolishing, the Australian Building and Construction Commission
• establishing a new Jobs and Skills Australia agency (the Government is also making plans for a national Skills Summit in early September)
• acting on aged care reform and the implementation of the Royal Commission recommendations
• abolishing the cashless welfare card
• legislating 10 days of paid domestic violence leave for workers, including casuals.

Chalmers delivers economic update

Newbie Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered a ministerial statement on the economy yesterday, foreshadowing the Government’s Budget to be handed down in October.

He warned real wages would continue to fall under inflationary pressures, and unemployment would start to creep up again from next year.

While laying the blame for the Government’s grim fiscal situation at the feet of the Opposition, the Treasurer said Labor’s childcare and green energy policies would help household budgets while they invest in skills and training to boost wage growth.

Labor’s Budget is expected to contain considerable spending cuts (focused on Coalition-era grant programs), balancing an increase in spending to finance their election commitments around aged care, health, childcare and the NDIS.
 

Crossbench makes their mark

The House of Representatives looks a little different than before, with a greatly expanded crossbench looming large in the Government’s sights.

Of the 16-strong crossbench, 10 were elected for the first time at the May election – more than the total number of crossbenchers in the last Parliament.

The Government made some procedural changes this week to the way Parliament operates, including changing the hours they sit and how late votes can be called, but most were focused on accommodating the unprecedented crossbench numbers.

In Question Time, the crossbench is now allocated three questions per day (up from one), although the time per question has been cut from 45 seconds to 30 bringing them into line with the major parties (removing the so-called ‘Bob Katter rule’ that gave crossbenchers more time to ask their questions).

Parliamentary committee numbers have also been adjusted to reflect the need to incorporate more crossbenchers.

Queenslander Milton Dick new Speaker

Queensland Labor Right MP Milton Dick was on Tuesday formally endorsed by the Parliament as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Dick, who has been a member of the House of Reps Standing Committee on Procedure since 2016, is well-regarded for his procedural knowledge of Parliament and said on Tuesday he would no longer attend Labor caucus meetings in a bid to remain impartial.

His brother, Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick, and good friend, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, were in the Chamber to watch his first performance as Speaker in Question Time on Wednesday.

He has promised to improve the tone of Parliament and to take an active role in implementing key recommendations from the Jenkins review into Parliamentary workplace behaviour.

Western Australia Senator Sue Lines was elected as Senate President, only the second woman to have ever held the position. She raised eyebrows by declaring one of her first acts as President will be to review the tradition of reading the Lord’s Prayer before each sitting day, a move she said would embrace the diversity of views represented in the Senate.
 

Politics done differently…until QT

Despite the Prime Minister’s pledge to bring decorum and respect back to the floor of Parliament, Wednesday’s first Question Time proved that to be wishful thinking.

The Coalition went on the attack about Labor’s links to the CFMEU and the impact of abolishing the ABCC, while the exuberant new ministers chided the somewhat subdued Coalition on their record in government.

The Government’s ‘dixers’ (questions asked of ministers by their colleagues) focused on their ambitious legislative program and stamping their election mandate on the new Parliament. 

On Thursday, Brisbane Labor MP Graham Perrett became the first MP to be booted from the new Parliament, asked to leave Question Time for continuously interrupting Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
 

Coalition finding its feet in Opposition

The Coalition hauled former PM John Howard to Canberra to rally the troops before the opening of the 47th Parliament, many of them finding themselves in the Opposition Party Room at Parliament House for the first time.

With the loss of key frontbenchers like Josh Frydenberg and a relatively inexperienced shadow ministry compared to Albanese’s team, the Opposition found comfort in familiar ground in Question Time – their union attack line ruffling the PM’s feathers in his first performance.

But their inconsistent position on whether Australia’s border should be closed to Indonesia over FMD concerns was seized on by the Government, as was their apparent indifference to mask wearing guidelines in the Chamber.

They’ll get one more chance to test the Government in Parliament next week before it breaks again until September