The first real test of the 48th parliament is under way as MPs sink their teeth into the daily grind of political business.
With the pageantry of parliament’s opening day out of the way, senators and MPs have begun their work in earnest.
New rules have been implemented in a crack down on disorderly behaviour of MPs, with members now facing eviction from the chamber of up to three hours for bad conduct, up from the maximum one-hour penalty in the last parliament.
The changes could prove useful as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, backed by one of Labor’s largest-ever majorities, prepares to face off against Opposition Leader Sussan Ley in Question Time for the first time.
With Labor holding a lion’s share of 94 seats in the lower chamber – compared to the coalition’s 43 – the 48th parliament will be the first time its politicians sit on both sides of the aisle in the House of Representatives.
As a result, a long list of new Labor MPs have all but monopolised the house to deliver their first speeches.
Banks MP Zhi Soon paid tribute to the multicultural community in southwest Sydney that helped raise him.
“One moment I was eating a Devon sandwich, the next a curry laksa, a kibbeh, a banh xeo, or a pani puri,” he told the chamber.
“I’m a proud Asian-Australian, I’m a proud Malaysian-Australian, I’m a proud Chinese-Australian, but most of all, I am a proud Australian.”
Former school teacher and Deakin MP Matt Gregg used his address to lay bare the consequences of social media on education and young Australians.
“Some of the toughest teachers I’ve ever worked with have felt they need to leave the profession – harassed with misogynistic and other anti-social behaviours like never before,” he said.
“Young people themselves feel it in their own sense of self-worth – they know something is wrong.
“We must continue to meet the challenges posed by social media and the landscape it’s created, not with panic, but with serious, thoughtful action.”
Although first speeches will make up much of the lower house agenda, the government wasted no time in kicking off its agenda with Education Minister Jason Clare using the first hour of sitting to introduce priority legislation.
A proposal to slash university debt by 20 per cent for three million Australians was delivered in the house first thing after Labor campaigned heavily on the promise.
People with an average HECS debt of $27,600 will have $5520 wiped from their loans.
The coalition is expected to support the move which will wipe $16 billion off student debt but is waiting to see the fine print.
Mr Clare also introduced legislation that would strengthen safety in the childcare system after promising to expedite the bill in response to shocking sexual abuse allegations against a Victorian childcare worker.
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