Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

My colleague Senator Siewert has set out that we will be supporting this amendment. We have just heard from Senator Carr a very clear case for why there should be an extension of the reporting time for the TEQSA bill. So many of the arguments that he put really also should be applied to why there should be an extension of time for reporting on the inquiry into the Qantas Sale Act. As Senator Carr said, the TEQSA bill will have profound consequences for many years to come. He set out the enormous interaction higher education has with our economy and how important it is to the strength of our economy. Well, the same argument could be put for the Qantas Sale Act. We know that there are 32,000 jobs involved in Qantas. That is why the Greens want to put on the record that the committee inquiring into the Qantas Sale Act should have a longer time before it is required to report. The amendment bill has wide-ranging implications for Qantas workers. A fundamental change would be brought about if the Qantas Sale Act is amended. It clearly has implications for the wider economy. That is why we should have time to have considered deliberations on it. Clearly more time is needed. I find it concerning that we have Labor and the coalition working together to provide for only minimal time to undertake this important work. There does appear to be a shift in how Labor is working with the coalition on Qantas, and it is disturbing.