Lyn Allison (Victoria, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

That is just not good enough. We have before us an amendment which takes out a specific requirement and puts in a more general requirement. All we are asking is: why is this the case, what are the implications and who will now be consulted? The legislation tells us that state and territory health ministers will be consulted in the appointment of the chair of AHEC. That has been removed. Why has that been removed? It takes a long time—fair enough. But, if that takes a long time, what are we doing now? What is the new arrangement? Is it so unable to be articulated that we must accept that it might be the health ministers still, it might be somebody else or it might be nobody? I do not think it is fair to say this is too broad a question to answer, because we are going from the specifics to the broad. We are interested in why this is the case. With respect, I think the government needs to have some sound arguments before simply dismissing this as an issue which does not warrant any argument from the government or any assurance of how the new system is going to work. We would not be asking the question if there was no change, but there is a proposed change and, as I said, it is from the specific to the non-specific. I think it is incumbent on you, Minister, to explain why that is the case.