Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for the Arts and Sport) Share this | Hansard source

We voted together on a number of very important things—the privatisation of the Commonwealth Bank and the privatisation of Qantas. It was good to have Senator Carr’s very strong support for those privatisations. In fact, I actually supported Senator Carr; they were, of course, privatised by the Labor government. The point I am making is that this is not without precedent. But I can see why Senator Carr is not going to support Senator Siewert on this amendment. My advice is that this seeks to provide for review of part IIA of the act. This would, in effect, amount to a review of the Victorian government legislation. We do not think that a review of the effectiveness of the repeal would serve a substantial purpose. On repeal of the Victorian provisions, the act would apply in the same way to Victoria as it does to other states and territories.

Senators may recall that Justice Elizabeth Evatt reported on a broader review of Indigenous heritage protection in August 1996, and the government sees this as a more sensible approach. I know that this was stressed in Senator Siewert’s general comments, and I can assure you that we will continue to consult with Indigenous groups and other stakeholders about Indigenous heritage protection. I urge senators to support the bill and not to amend the bill in the way that Senator Siewert is proposing.

Question negatived.