Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the House) | Hansard source

I just want to address a couple of remarks there. I've indicated my appreciation for the contributions that a number of crossbench members have made to this debate and for the time they've taken to draft amendments and come to us. I think the member said there were 30-something amendments from the crossbench. A number of them do cross over; they deal with the same material. But we are supporting, I think, in total, 12 of those amendments. I'll also move 18 government amendments—when we get to that—to reflect feedback we've received. I want to reiterate how much I value the engagement, even where people have different views about the direction that we should take, in relation to this critically important social program.

I've made remarks about amendments that go to the reassessment proposals and support determinations. There'll be some further debate about that over the course of the rest of this evening. For those same reasons, we're not supporting these amendments.

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