Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Hansard source

I was not intending to speak again on government amendment (1), but Minister Ludwig did invite my contribution, so I will make one. Let me be very clear. Some days this place proceeds through things faster than other days, some days the focus is very specific to the detail of the question before the chair and some days—due to issues and events of the day—debate is a bit more wide ranging. That occurs on all sides, from all parties and at all times, and it is well accepted and tolerated right around the chamber. We have no particular desire to delay the debate on this measure. Each time it has come up, we have come in here and made constructive contributions. The opposition seeks to work through each of these amendments system­atically as best as we possibly can.

We will happily work with you. I will leave it to Senator Ludwig, who is not only the minister at the table but also the Manager of Government Business in the Senate, to negotiate with his equivalents from the other parties in this place as to hours and how this legislation is treated—that is, when we debate it. However, how we debate it and how long we debate it will of course be determined, ultimately, by the chamber. We will seek to move through as systematically and cooperatively as we can whilst giving everything appropriate airing.

I say to the government that when we went through the Senate committee process on this bill there was a lot of criticism about the way the drafting occurred and about the way consultation and engagement with stakeholders occurred. There was a lot of criticism of the time line. As we then finalised that, there was a lot of criticism that the substantial draft regulations underpinning how this bill works—in particular, the negative list to which this amendment pertains—had not been finalised and were not publicly available to be considered in tandem with this legislation. If anything has slowed down the debate this week, it is the reality that it was only on Tuesday that the government came into this place and presented those draft regulations, for which the opposition and many others had been calling for some time. That is what slowed down debate this week.

Yes, some questions and some contribu­tions have gone more to the draft regulations than to the specific amendments we are considering. That is because we have been consistent from day one that those regula­tions are critically important to the way this bill works and that they should have been considered in tandem with this bill. That point has been made by many coalition speakers and was made in the dissenting report of the committee inquiry into this bill and, in fact, when this bill was first released.

So we have been crystal clear. We are pleased to finally see those draft regulations. They do of course aid us in the debate. But if those draft regulations had been released back when they should have been released—so that the full measure of the complexity and the impact of this legislation could have been considered as one—then the debate to date might well have proceeded far more smoothly. But, as I said, I think we have given extensive consideration to this amendment. I note that my colleague Senator Nash, who has a strong interest in this bill, is with us but was not with us yesterday, so I do not know whether or not she is intending to say anything on this amendment. I have said enough on it—I agree with the minister on that—and I trust that we will be able to proceed on the matter shortly.