Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Well, no. I know the minister is standing in tonight but when you bring legislation before the Senate you bring it with the knowledge that there will be a debate on it. The last thing you want to do is say that there is some other device, some other piece of information which is centrally germane to the legislation and to amendments and is the information that is going to inform a committee, but you cannot have it while you are debating it. This does not stand.

The minister might say that the management plans are a regulatory device and that the Senate will be able to look at them at some future time, and I would like him to inform us about that. But Mr Temporary Chairman Brandis, as you will no doubt agree, it is the minister’s responsibility to come in here informed about all aspects of this legislation. Copping out by saying, ‘Well, I don’t know’ or ‘I’ll tell you later’ is simply not adequate to an informed debate on a matter as important as this. So I ask him: can he get that information? We have doubled the size of the adviser’s box since Senator Milne spoke. Can he get that information and inform the committee before we move on?