George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I am just a generous soul, I suppose, Senator Fierravanti-Wells. First of all, let me for the record say that the Australian Human Rights Commission is and has always been supported by the coalition. But that does not mean that either we—or for that matter you, Senator Hanson-Young, as a parliamentarian with oversight of a Commonwealth agency—should not feel at liberty to criticise it at times, including in estimates. It is a rather shocking proposition that merely because a senator criticises an aspect of the operation of a Commonwealth agency in Senate estimates they hate that agency. That is a very, very foolish thing to say, Senator Hanson-Young, and not worthy of you.

May I return to the principal point here: it is very foolish indeed to describe the coalition's opposition to proposed section 7A of the bill as a 'loophole'. This is a proposition that says: 'We will overreach as far as we like in order to prohibit a practice, and because somebody points out to us that we have overreached they are therefore seeking to rely on a loophole. Their heart isn't in it. They don't really support the legislative intention.' Senator Hanson-Young, in case you were not listening, the coalition supports this bill.