Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance and Responsibility) Share this | Hansard source

Labor proposes to support Senator Murray’s amendments. Amendment (6) appears to expand the basis on which a contract can be reviewed and also to look to the conduct of the parties. We think that is meritorious—that there may be occasions when that is merited. Obviously that would be a matter for the court to determine. I also draw attention to amendment (7), which enables a post-termination review—as Senator Murray said, if a contract has been terminated—to enable the court to look retrospectively at whether or not some compensation should be ordered.

Amendment (8) deals essentially with ensuring that there can be a quantum meruit sort of claim for damages as opposed to a damages claim which is only in terms of a breach or a particular unfairness of a contract provision. We think the flexibility to enable the court to look to what is just in the circumstances of the case is sensible. For those reasons we will be supporting amendments (6) to (9).