Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

Well, what a waste of time this exercise is if, during the committee stage, we cannot find out how the bill will actually be implemented, what its meaning is and what its consequences will be. I would have thought, irrespective of what side of the chamber you sit on, Minister, you would accept that that is the role of the committee stage in a bill so that senators can actually get an understanding of how it will be implemented and any misunderstandings—as senators can be disabused of them so that a full understanding can be achieved. If all we are going to get is, 'Well, read the bill for yourself; that is going to be its interpretation,' I fear that that is not exactly what the committee process was designed for. It was in fact designed to deal with these issues so that there can be clarity as to what is meant by the legislation. But when a minister cannot even explain it, it once again highlights how this legislation has been rushed through. Minister, is there any objective process that the ministers need to go through prior to making the interim declaration?