Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Tourism) | Hansard source

I think the provisions will apply prospectively. There is a—

Senator Cash, thank you for the eye roll, but what I was saying what I was saying in my previous answer was that there are current provisions in place to deal with conflict of interest. They apply now and they would apply to a current perceived or potential conflict of interest. These provisions will apply prospectively. On the reading of the provisions that I have, this changes the administrative approach to how a conflict of interest would be dealt with, not if or when a conflict of interest can be managed. I know that there would be a lot of interest in how that might apply to the particular proceeding that Senator Cash is concerned with. The advice that I've been given is that, if a conflict arises in relation to a future proceeding—because I don't want to talk about particular proceedings—even if that proceeding was on foot before these provisions commenced, the new provisions would apply.