David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister. Firstly, just to echo the words of other senators, thank you for the constructive way that you and your office and the department have engaged not just on this issue but on a range of issues. Being new to this place, I was very interested to learn that, when the Scrutiny of Bills Committee was established in 1981, it was the first of its kind in the world, and since then we've seen parliaments across Australia and the world adopt similar models. I am interested in the process and the government's thinking on this, given that the Scrutiny of Bills Committee has raised concerns and the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation has also raised concerns, and, as I understand it, those concerns are unresolved. They are very valid concerns raised by committees that are chaired by government senators and, from my experience, have a totally non-partisan way of dealing with this and undertaking the task of scrutinising bills and potential delegated legislation. What was the process for the government in deciding to proceed with this legislation, despite having valid concerns from those two committees?