Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Paterson. Again, we'll do our best to get that information back as quickly as we can. I note, by the way, that the amendments—at least the government amendments—have now been circulated, and I table a supplementary explanatory memorandum relating to the government amendments to be moved to this bill.

I should make the point, though, on this point about the constitutionality of the amendments, that I can't make it any clearer than to say that we are all acting here in the absence of the High Court reasons. But that is not to say that we should do nothing until we receive those reasons. These are amendments that have been brought to us by the opposition. We are willing to enact them, agree to them and, in some cases, move them, because we have as much confidence as we possibly can about their constitutionality. But we can't be absolutely certain of that until we receive the reasons of the High Court. The alternative, which is what the Greens party proposes, is that we don't do anything, and we don't think that is a viable option in the circumstances, given the nature of the people who have been released.