Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Temporary Chairman, thank you for your assistance. I am certainly looking forward to receiving a copy of the amendment. I also thank Senator McLucas for her courtesy again.

I simply say that the government feels that incorporating this in legislation would limit the scope of any potential review. The government believes that a ministerial review 18 months after the act takes effect is the right way to go and that it should not be incorporated into legislation, because that would potentially limit the scope of the review. I can say, as I think Senator McLucas noted, that the government does commit to undertaking that review and it would be broad ranging, as indicated. In fact, I believe that including such a review in legislation would limit the scope of the review. It is important that governments commit to reviewing, but incorporating a review into legislation is not necessarily the best public policy outcome.