Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Hansard source

Well, he will, too, and he has a very sensible question. But can I repeat mine? There are now three questions that I would like answered: can you tell me the broad parameters of how your commission is going to be selected? There is no rocket science in that; no great secret about that. Surely, the government must have a view on how you appoint people to these commissions rather than slipping down to the local Labor Party branch and seeing who has not yet been given a job? Surely, you can tell me what that is?

Secondly, you can tell me what this commission will do that the Queensland GasFields Commission is not already doing? That is a reasonable question. Thirdly, I am just trying to get an indication of how this scientific commission will interact with the Queensland GasFields Commission, that has actually now been operating for several months. It has been building up a bit of expertise and it has broad community support—mayors, scientists, lawyers, farmers and landowners in Queensland, all contributing towards an outcome which I assume that this commission being set up by this legislation is also intending to achieve.

So they are three reasonable questions, Minister, and I would appreciate an answer.