Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Payments) Share this | Hansard source

There is concern about this particular area because, as you have said, the minister cannot make directives with regard to particular loans under the farm loan program but they can make directions with regard to class of such loans. I don't think that it's unreasonable that you here are able to define for us what 'class' means in this bill. Essentially, with the minister being able to make directives with regard to particular loans, he's absolutely got the power to issue directives that concern arbitrarily tightening defined classes of loan. I don't think it's unreasonable for the chamber to be advised by government what 'class' means in this bill.