Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Assistant Treasurer. We look at amendment (5), which was only circulated in the last hour. It talks about appropriate consultation. I hope the Assistant Treasurer could give us a definition of exactly what is meant by 'appropriate consultation'. There is no definition I have been able to see in the explanatory memorandum. So I hope the Assistant Treasurer can take this opportunity.

The other words are in paragraph 1(b), where it says that relevant input received as part of that consultation has been taken into account adequately. What is the definition of 'adequately'? Who decides this? I hope, again, that the Assistant Treasurer will take this opportunity to explain the definition of 'adequately'.

Now I move on to proposed subsection (3) of the fifth amendment. This says that the fact that the consultation does not occur, or that that input is not taken into account, does not affect the validity or enforceability of that regulation. I hope the Assistant Treasurer will explain what the purpose of that clause is, because it simply makes the entire rest of the amendment completely redundant. If the consultation does not occur and input is not taken into account it does not affect the regulation's validity or enforceability—that makes the other sections completely redundant. It is complete gobbledegook language.

Again, this is all about creating more red tape and more bureaucracy. So, instead of the charities—the not-for-profit sector—going out and doing the good work they do in our society and helping people, they will now have to have accountants and lawyers to work their way through 325 pages of this nonsense.

I hope, in the remaining time we have in this debate in the consideration in detail, that the Assistant Treasurer will get up and explain the evil that this bill is trying to fix, he will explain to us the definitions in amendment (5) and he will explain to us why proposed section 3, which simply makes the rest of that amendment completely redundant, should be included.

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