Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

While listening to Senator Humphries go through some of the other questions he raised I was reflecting on what he said at the outset. I must admit I am disinclined to respond to—and surprised by—such relatively cheap retorts coming from Senator Humphries. He is claiming that this is just about a wedge, that it is just a political exercise and, indeed, that it is a 'confused process'. Senator Humphries is well aware of the very clear process that this has been through—the inquiries involved, the detail of what is being considered. Indeed, some of those issues will I think be addressed when we look at the amendments that have been circulated in relation to this legislation.

With respect to Senator Humphries's questions about cost, I can indicate that it is reasonable to expect that the cost involved will be roughly comparable. Some of those details are still being worked through. The question of the split of the funding between the yes case and the no case also fits within that category, but I am not aware of any indication that decisions around that split are going to have significant cost implications—which did seem to be implied by Senator Humphries's question.