Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Abetz raises the normal courtesies of, I assume, both the House and the Senate. He knows as well as I do how this fits within those normal courtesies if we reflect on the passage of a variety of different pieces of legislation over the course of both his own and my own career. For a piece of legislation upon which wide consultation has occurred; indeed, as has been reflected in the second reading contributions in this debate, where it is relatively non-controversial, taking into account some of the issues that have been canvassed; and where, generally, progress on this first one-third of the recommendations of the review panel work, the time frame that he has outlined is not at all exceptional and neither is exemption from the cut-off where we have the position of this bill where there is general support for progressing these generally agreed recommendations. Whilst I understand that Senator Abetz wants to make a few political points about appointments or, indeed, the name of the tribunal, I think it is fair to reflect that progressing these generally agreed amendments is not something of any great contention.