Mr GARETH EVANS (Acting Leader of the Opposition)(3.20 p.m.) —I seek indulgence to state the opposition's position on the question of the House adjourning for the Melbourne Cup tomorrow.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Nehl) —Proceed.

Mr GARETH EVANS —The Deputy Leader of the House (Mr McGauran) appeared to be under something of a misapprehension when he said this matter had been the subject of discussion and agreement with the opposition. It appears to be the case that there has certainly been no formal discussion and considerable uncertainty as to what informal discussion there may have been at an officers' level, not at members' level.

In the circumstances, may I state shortly that our position is that we would be deeply unhappy at anything which curtailed question time taking its full, normal and natural course and that, while there may or may not be a case for stopping the parliament briefly while the rest of the country has stopped for the running of the race, our view would be that a half-hour adjournment was unnecessary, particularly if it were to cut into what would otherwise be the scope of question time and given the pressures allegedly upon the business of this House. We believe there is a need for some further discussion between the Leader of the House (Mr Reith), the Manager of Opposition Business (Mr Crean) and others, and we hope this can be the subject of further report back later this day.