George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for the Arts and Sport) Share this | Hansard source

Surely, Senator Stott Despoja, you are aware that there are many acts of this parliament which use the word ‘substantial’ as a test without providing a statutory definition of that term, because it is a plain English term. The term is used in the Income Tax Assessment Act, the Trade Practices Act and, I think, in various provisions of the Corporations Law. I think it is used in some of the media ownership laws. The use of the term ‘substantial’ without providing a mathematical definition as to what that might mean, but relying on the plain English of the word, is commonplace.