6th Mar 2014, 9:12 AM – Representatives Qantas Sale Amendment Bill 2014 - Second Reading - That the member be no longer heard

The majority voted in favour of a motion 'that the member no longer be heard', which was introduced by Liberal MP Scott Morrison.

The Member referred to in the motion was Labor MP Tony Burke who, just prior to Morrison MP's motion, tried to introduce a motion to suspend the standing and sessional orders so that the debate on the bill could proceed immediately.

Since the majority voted in favour of this motion, Burke MP could no longer be heard in the House and so could not proceed with his motion. This means that debate on this bill will be limited by the standing and sessional orders, which the opposition argued was inadequate.

Background to the bill

The Qantas Sale Amendment Bill 2014 was introduced to remove the foreign ownership and other restrictions that apply to Qantas but do not apply to other airlines based in Australia.(Read more on ABC News and on ABC Radio's AM program. ) These restrictions include: limits on the issue and ownership of Qantas shares, the makeup of the board of directors, use of the name Qantas and the location of the head office, place of incorporation and principle place of business.(Read more in the bills digest (852 KB).)