Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I move opposition amendment (26) on sheet 5208 revised:

(26)  Schedule 2, item 62, page 49 (lines 10 to 12), omit subsection 154A(3), substitute:

(3)     The Tribunal may direct that a hearing, or part of a hearing, be held in public, providing that the parties consent to this.

This amendment seeks to repeal and replace section 154A(3) to allow the tribunal to undertake a public hearing with the consent of the parties. This matter was recommended during the course of the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs inquiry into the Native Title Amendment Bill 2006. The amendment does not need a great deal of explanation; on the face of it, it seems quite clear. Therefore, I will not delay the chamber any longer. It would seem to be a sensible amendment, and I put it to the committee that the government should also support it.