Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I expect that questions can range widely. I have two amendments. For the purpose of debate, if the committee wishes, I will move the first amendment, which is for a sunset clause. By the way, we are dealing here with a two-page bill. I move Greens amendment (1) on sheet 5672:

(1)    Page 1 (after line 10), after clause 2, insert:

2A  Sunset

                 This Act ceases to have effect on the second anniversary of its commencement.

Talking about prudence, I think it is a very prudent thing that the parliament should have to review the function of this extraordinary piece of legislation, particularly in view of the fact that we are not having a Senate inquiry or the opportunity for the public to feed into the legislation. I note that in the second reading speech the minister said:

On 12 October, the government took action to stabilise and promote confidence in Australia’s financial system by instituting a broadly based deposit and wholesale funding guarantee.

If that were the case on 12 October, how come this legislation is now put on the Senate without the time to deal with a proper analysis of it? There is something very, very wrong with a process where suddenly the government puts this legislation into the Australian parliament in the second last week of the sitting year, votes against there being any Senate inquiry into the legislation and insists not only that it pass the Senate but that it do so by tomorrow—because the minister says in his own speech that Friday is the day that the banks get the benefit of the guarantee that is involved.

If the Committee of the Whole will permit it, I will ask a series of questions. I will take them in order so that we might facilitate the quickest passage of this process in the committee. The first of those questions is: which of the regional banks or credit unions spoke to the minister about this legislation or asked for it?