Ray Hadley had a bee in his bonnet this morning during his regular radio chat with “mate” Scott Morrison. Why, the 2GB blowhard blustered, was federal Parliament only sitting for 27 days between now and Christmas?

The Treasurer countered the “cheap shots” with an undeniable fact: pollies, at least on the frontbench, work just as hard away from Parliament as they do in it. Ray, of course, who started work at 4am this morning if you were wondering, was having none of it:

“Tell that to the truck driver that got up at 4am this morning in Penrith and gets home at 8.30 tonight … You might work every single day, but I’m sure there are a lot of bludgers and leaners inside the federal parliament who are delighted to go home every Thursday, have a long weekend and then come back on Sunday night or Monday morning.”

As the smoke clears from this morning’s opening ceremony, we ponder just what this 45th Parliament, with its barely majority government, weak Prime Minister and rag-tag team of crossbenchers, will achieve. What is clear is its ability to improve the nation’s economic position — and improve the lives of its people — will not be limited by the cut of its members or the hands of the clock but by a failure to consult, convince and compromise.

“No bill won’t pass because of lack of time to pass it,” Morrison told Hadley this morning.

Spot on. So to the 226 MPs who sit for the first time together today, the message is clear: it’s in your hands. Time is with you.