Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I move opposition amendment (4):

(4) Schedule 1, item 51, page 18 (after line 30), at the end of Part 8-2, add:

202 Deducting prior payments—safeguards

(1) As soon as practicable after this section commences, the Minister must consider the action that needs to be taken to ensure that prior payments are deducted from redress payments only if, and only to the extent that, it is proven that the prior payments are relevant prior payments.

(2) Within 90 days after this section commences, the Minister must prepare a report on:

(a) what the Minister has done, or plans to do, to ensure the result mentioned in subsection (1); or

(b) if the Minister has not done, and does not plan to do, anything—the Minister's reasons for this.

(3) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament on or before the first sitting day of that House after the end of those 90 days.

(4) In this section:

action includes amending this Act, an instrument made under this Act, or any other law.

This amendment will make sure that payments made in the past for other purposes are not taken from redress payments—for example, to the Stolen Generations. This would mean the scheme would give survivors the benefit of the doubt, and this is only fair.

See this speech in context