David Feeney (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Hopefully, Senator Ludlam, you draw great comfort from the fact that the government has adopted your amendment and that we remain amenable to reason in these negotiations and the proceedings that come from them. The government supports the Greens' amendment to insert a new clause 74A, which will establish the Strengthened Export Controls Steering Group. The government had tabled an amendment to implement the steering group but this amendment has a greater level of specificity, which will give greater assurance to stakeholders that the steering group will operate as agreed during the Chief Scientist's roundtable. I note that this includes an additional function for the steering group—to advise ministers whether the bill creates a more restrictive regime than in the United States in relation to university activities.