Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I can advise Senator Fielding and the Senate that the government has in fact provided some assistance to Senator Patterson at her specific request. We recognise that the senator is personally passionate about these matters and concurred with her view that it would be better for the Senate to consider a technically informed and properly constructed bill than the alternative. The Department of Health and Ageing arranged technical advice from MP Consulting at Senator Patterson’s request on the construction of the bill. This was limited to technical drafting advice and not on matters of policy, which I believe are being provided by interested members of the Lockhart review committee, amongst others.