The Victorian parliament's next sitting date is up in the air due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Thursday was meant to be the state's last sitting day before the May 5 budget, but the Andrews government has successfully passed motions in the two chambers, leaving the adjournment until a date to be confirmed.
Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville says the step will enable the government to have ongoing discussions with other parties about how parliament operates in the next few months, as coronavirus spreads.
"It is not presuming when or where parliament is sitting. It is enabling the discussions to happen properly in an evolving situation," she told parliament.
"Each day the advice changes. Each day the directives from the chief health officers change. We need to be able to accommodate that."
Leader of the government in the Upper House, Gavin Jennings, noted the parliament may need to come back sooner than planned.
"There may be circumstances that would warrant coming back early," he said.
The Victorian opposition says it was "ambushed" by the motion and should have been consulted on it.
Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien is also worried it could lead to fewer sitting days, at a time when the state of emergency declared in response to COVID-19 has given the Andrews government additional powers.
"When a government has extraordinary power, it's more important than ever than the parliament function, that the parliament sits, and that governments are held accountable for how they use that power," he told reporters.
Attorney-General Jill Hennessy said Leader of the House Jacinta Allan had been open with other parties all week that "decisions would have to be made".
"This is a sensible position. This is a sensible position whereby the Leader of the House has given a commitment to continue to work with those on the other side of the house about what the future arrangements might be," she told parliament.
Australian Associated Press
