Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

Labor supports making most of the changes that were introduced to help public companies manage their obligations during the height of the COVID-19 period permanent. But this support is not unqualified with respect to the changes affecting the conduct of annual general meetings. We have some concerns about the arrangements that are being proposed. In Labor's view, it is very important that the sanctity of rights and shareholder rights be preserved, and we are concerned about the potential dilution of these rights as a consequence of annual meetings being held virtually.

That is why my colleague Mr Stephen Jones circulated amendments to this bill in the other place. We are pleased that the government accepted those amendments. In particular, these will cause there to be a review of the effect of the bill and also the paragraphs in the bill that permit wholly virtual meetings will cease to have effect if a report on the review of those operations or those provisions is not tabled in each house of parliament within 30 months of the commencement of schedule 1 of the bill. With that protection in place, I can confirm that Labor will be supporting the Corporations Amendment (Meetings and Documents) Bill 2021.