Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Families, Community Services, Indigenous Affairs and the Voluntary Sector) Share this | Hansard source

I am happy to support the motion moved by the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs to the Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Other Legislation Amendment (2008 Budget and Other Measures) Bill 2008. This amendment is designed to remove an unintended consequence of legislation that was passed in 2006 with the full support of the then opposition. The problem in question was so unintended and so unanticipated that it was actually reinforced by the current government’s budget legislation, which to that extent will also be corrected by this bill that we are now proposing to pass.

As the minister has said, this is a complex piece of policymaking. It is easy for governments to do things which have unintended ramifications. I suspect that this is not going to be the last time that these issues will be discussed in this parliament. I would not be at all surprised to find the government coming back into this House in the not-too-distant future to talk about changes that were announced in the budget to the treatment of salary sacrifice superannuation for the purposes of family assistance eligibility, but I digress somewhat. The fact is that this particular piece of legislation is dealing with 2006 changes and subsequent changes in 2008 and, because of the consequences that were not intended, the legislation before us should certainly be passed swiftly.

Question agreed to.

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