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

I do not want to prolong things, but I thank Senator Murray for that sentiment. It is the intention of the government with this bill to breathe life into section 46, which has been moribund since the Boral case. However, that does not mean that the issues of proof are going to be any easier. The problem with the Boral case is not that it changed the mode of proof but that it changed the threshold legal tests in one particularly important respect—and that is what is addressed by this legislation. The complexity of the trial process is not going to change, but it is the government’s intention that the thresholds that an applicant has to meet should be less onerous than they have been since section 46 has been construed by the High Court in the Boral case.