Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

Without endorsing Senator Waters's comments, the opposition will not be supporting the motion—but for different reasons. Once again, we are debating a motion which is complex in nature and misplaced in this section of the daily program. The issue that Senator O'Sullivan raises in this motion is, by its nature, a very complex one and one which deserves substantive debate and not a quick vote of the Senate.

This motion is also a poor conflation of the issues of safe access zones and religious freedom and freedom of association in Australia. It's fortunate that the motion now corrects the one factual error contained in the original motion proposed in the chamber weeks ago. Part of this motion refers to the now Archbishop of Melbourne, Peter Comensoli, when he was the Bishop for Broken Bay. The motion still incorrectly refers to an organisation called Labor for Choice. I'm glad to see that Senator O'Sullivan did correct one of these errors, but it's unfortunate— (Time expired)