Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I am prepared to take that on good faith from the minister: if the minister says an alternative method is under consideration, I accept that. This, as I said, was the Labor Party’s proposal; if there is a different way of dealing with it, I am happy to hear it and, in all likelihood, if it would achieve the same result, I would be happy to give it bipartisan support and see its speedy passage through both houses.

I agree with the minister in this respect: this certainly should not delay the bill. There are enough important matters in this bill—some of which we have been waiting five or seven years for, in relation to schedule 1—such that I certainly would not delay it any further. I made that clear in my remarks on the second reading. So we will press the amendment, but I do take that on good faith from the minister, and I am glad to hear that there is bipartisan agreement that this—something I would regard as probably an unintended consequence—is, in all likelihood, going to be dealt with.

See this speech in context