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

The government will not support this amendment. First up, I am not frustrated to work within the constitution and Senator Ryan's suggestion that that is so demeans this whole proposition. We could go to the layer below that and talk about who fixes what pre-selections in what party, but I think all of us in this place know that it is not a party-specific matter and indeed raising it in that fashion cheapens this very proposition. That said, I should stress that you can get behind the proposition and support it. Senator Ryan did suggest that there was some level of bipartisan support. By the same token you can stand here and you can ask questions until the cows come home, but that is not getting behind the proposition and supporting it.

But let us deal with some of the detail that is raised with respect to this amendment. The Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 describes the type of things that the Commonwealth can spend money on in the lead up to a referendum under section 11(4). In 2009 the House of representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs made certain recommendations in the report, A Time for Change: Yes/No?Recommendation 11 was that the limitation on spending be suspended. As the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee found in its 2009 report, the restriction on Commonwealth expenditure is a barrier to the development of a better and more effective referendum process. The amendments to subsection 11(4) implement this recommendation. This amendment is identical to the approach taken by the parliament in the last referendum in 2009 and, yes, there are some differences in the proposal but, that said, the approach taken is identical. This provision was wholeheartedly supported by the coalition when this was put forward by the very last referendum held.