Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Transport) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Ferguson says, ‘No deals,’ but it would be interesting if Minister McGauran, or indeed Senator Abetz—if we had the time—were able to assure the public just how this process would work. This is, unfortunately, another instance where it will be difficult to examine how the veto power is used. It is a blunt power as it stands. AWB has the veto and it has used it every time, with one exception—which it claims was a mistake that had slipped through. There was not much to investigate; it was simply a stonewall position by AWB. But now we see a media comment suggesting that a decision has already been made to allow CBH to do a bulk shipment of two million tonnes. We would like to know more about that.

Secondly, yesterday AWB put out a media release, which I think affected the stock exchange dealings with AWB shares, saying that AWB were unable to provide certainty because of the lack of clarity in the government’s proposed changes, including how the bulk veto would be applied in future. I have some sympathy for them—not about many things—in relation to understanding how the veto would work, because it is delightfully vague on how the minister is going to use this power. We ought to have had a more extensive statement by the minister in his second reading contribution as to just how he would exercise this power.

As Senator Johnston said, the reference to the public interest in the legislation does not give us any certainty as to the criteria that the minister will take into account, what he is limited to considering and the matters which are inappropriate for him to consider. All of these things have been done in a rather haphazard, rushed and slapdash manner. The opposition is concerned that this is hasty legislation and we are not being given an opportunity to properly consider it. Because of the rolling guillotine our amendment will not be given proper consideration. In his second reading contribution Senator Ian Macdonald said that he had not seen our amendment but he was going to vote against it.