George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I do not want to be tedious but I think I have addressed that—so perhaps it is not me being tedious. Let me respond again: this was a period that was selected by the PJCIS, and we have adopted their recommendations. You say 40 sitting days seems a leisurely period. I acknowledge your view but I do make the point, as I made in answer to your previous question, that I would not expect any sensible Attorney-General to want to delay it that long.

As for the proposal in this amendment that it be truncated to four sitting days, that is unrealistic. It is quite a process to get legislation onto the parliamentary program: all ministers have to go through the processes of the parliamentary business committee presided over in Star Wars-like fashion by my friend Mr Pyne, the member for Sturt. The competition to get business onto the legislative agenda through the parliamentary business committee for any government for bids to be approved with the limited number of sitting days and indeed sitting hours available is quite an exhaustive process. The suggestion that a bill could be brought on in four sitting days is, frankly, unrealistic, Senator.