Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

It seems that in terms of these amendments from the Greens the numbers are not on my side and, in response, we will not be dividing on this issue. The government will take these amendments away and have a look at that particular issue. At this point in time what is vitally important is that we do get the monitor in place so that an independent monitor is there to ensure that the work can proceed. On that basis, rather than argue for or against the amendments, I would like to take the opportunity to have a better look at the provisions of these Greens amendments.

The Senate committee did a significant amount of work to ensure that this legislation met the approval of the Senate. On behalf of the government I did take on board many of the recommendations of the Senate committee to ensure that we could get the independent monitor up and running as soon as possible. I think it is a valuable role, to provide an overview of the antiterrorism legislation, particularly since that legislation has been in place for some time. It is a matter that was also raised during the initial inquiry under the previous government, in 2006—that there should be an independent monitor. So I will not get stuck on some of the detail. I understand the numbers in this place and I will take on board the suggestions by the Greens and have a second look at them to see if we can get everyone’s approval.

Question agreed to.