Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

The honourable senator opposite has made the bland assertion that, allegedly, the government has form. We, of course, reject that. The important thing with any royal commission and terms of reference is that there be the catch-all phrase. The fact that Senator O’Brien himself is reduced to using the catch-all phrase indicates that, no matter how clever you think you are at drafting, if you want a genuine inquiry, you need a catch-all phrase, such as the one we are introducing—namely, ‘any matters incidental to the matters referred to’. That is the important part.

Whilst Senator O’Brien has added a few extra words and an extra two paragraphs, he is reduced to also having, at proposed subparagraph (v), ‘any matters incidental to’. In the terms of reference we talk about ‘outbreak’; Senator O’Brien then says ‘and spread’ just in case ‘outbreak’ does not cover the spread. If I wanted to be smart, I could say: ‘How can you have an outbreak without an introduction?’ In that case the wording ought to be ‘introduction, outbreak and spread’. We can keep on adding words ad infinitum, having a great verbal joust and playing word games, but, at the end of the day, we know that the totality of those matters that Mr Callinan needs to inquire into are covered by the final paragraph:

… any matters incidental to the matters referred to in subparagraphs (i) and (ii); …

In Senator O’Brien’s amendment, it would be ‘in subparagraphs (i) to (iv)’. I am sure that Senator O’Brien and I could sit down and draw up a list of potential extra paragraphs that would go for pages and pages about showering protocols and this quite bizarre allegation of ministerial involvement in the setting of the protocols. We could go through chapter and verse and set out in great detail, page after page, things that Mr Callinan should possibly inquire into. Even if we did that, if we had any sense whatsoever we would still be reduced to adding a final paragraph which said ‘any matters incidental to’. I think most people fully accept and understand that that catch-all phrase, which is a description quite rightly employed by Senator O’Brien, is the important part of these terms of reference. We can spend day after day expanding the terms of reference without actually adding anything to it because of that catch-all phrase. Given those circumstances, we do not believe that the amendment will add anything to the terms of reference and to the full extent to which Mr Callinan will be clothed to conduct a very full, wide-ranging inquiry.