Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Hansard source

Obviously, we are in great agreement. Unlike other occasions when the minister has said we are in agreement on a principle or on a subject of debate, on this occasion I think we are also in agreement on the direction that the debate should actually take and the final vote that should be applied. The opposition thanks Senator Xenophon for moving this amend­ment. We concur with the arguments that he has put in regard to providing further transparency to the process and the assessment and recognition of offset entities and, in particular, to the work of the Domestic Offsets Integrity Committee. We hope that this amendment will provide not just further transparency but also the further benefits of confidence, being that of those who participate in this scheme, and certainty as to the way that the DOIC works and undertakes its considerations.