Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I think, Senator Nash, you may have unfairly characterised what has occurred. I take your point about it being always preferable to have as much detail as possible, but the reality of the way legislation works is that we get the framework of the legislation and then we move to regulations or other things that implement that broad legislation. People always want all the detail when, in fact, that is not the way the legislative process works. We pass the law and then we deal with the regulation and the applicability.

However, I am told that a discussion paper has been circulated which deals with the process issues and that there has been a list of potential indicative activities also put out there for people to see. So, as I understand it, a lot of work has been done to try and give people a sense of how things are going to work, what the processes will be and the sorts of things that will be regarded as indicative or eligible activities.

We often have this debate in this place. Oppositions want certainty about a whole range of things that flow from legislation, and that is not possible and is perhaps not dealing with things in the right order. I take on board what you are suggesting, but I think the answer is: as much has been done as possible to take forward the process to inform people through the discussion paper and the list of potential indicative activities to try and give a sense of how it will work. As we have described before, there is an engagement with stakeholders et cetera that will take us through those processes. It is not possible to put all that into the legislation but there has been an attempt to inform. Obviously, if the legislation is carried then we will take forward that work.