Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Community Services) Share this | Hansard source

I think Senator Evans’s remarks deserve a response—and a level of response in terms of a legal mind. At least we are equals in that sense. Senator, what is at risk here? The reason we have moved to ensure that we have provisions in this legislation that clarify the operations of the Racial Discrimination Act is that we want to ensure that there is no risk of us not being able to go to the communities and do what fundamentally the opposition agree with.

When assessing that risk, it was not that we were saying, ‘Let’s just rush it through.’ In fact this area has had a great deal of scrutiny, and I am very pleased to see that it had a great deal of scrutiny on your side as well—and it is reflected. There is just a minute bit of difference. The question is whether deeming it rather than excluding it is a higher level of risk. If we get it wrong, we are putting at risk our capacity to roll out things that you agree with. We are definitely not being disrespectful of the Racial Discrimination Act. In fact, we just want to make it very clear we are not amending that at all. We are simply clarifying, through provisions in this bill, how to clarify the operation of the Racial Discrimination Act with regard to this particular piece of legislation.

Question put:

That the amendment (Senator Chris Evans’s) be agreed to.