Penny Wright (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Apart from that, I do not have particular questions to ask about the government's proposed amendments. I move the Australian Greens amendment (1) on sheet 7680:

(1) Page 6 (after line 5), after clause 3, insert:

4 Review of operation of amendments

(1) The Minister must cause a review of the operation of the amendments made by this Act to be undertaken as soon as practicable after the end of the period of 3 years after the commencement of Schedule 1.

(2) The review must consider:

  (a) the effect of the amendments made by this Act; and

  (b) any other related matter that the Minister specifies.

(3) The person who undertakes the review must give the Minister a written report of the review within 6 months after the end of the 3-year period.

(4) The Minister must cause a copy of the report of the review to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of receiving it.

This is the amendment that I foreshadowed in my speech in the second reading debate regarding a review of the newly amalgamated tribunal within 24 months of that tribunal being established to give users, practitioners, tribunal members and other interested stakeholders an opportunity to have input as to whether the stated aims of efficiency, efficacy and cost saving have been met, as well as whether or not the other objectives of a fair and reliable tribunal system have been met.

I would urge the committee to support this amendment. As we have heard from various people who have contributed to the debate, it is a significant change. As I indicated too, it is not one that the Greens are necessarily opposed to. I think there is always a risk in these things that, once the deed has been done and significant changes have been made, there are significant aspects that have been lost as well. I would be urging the committee to support the Greens amendment to have a comprehensive review within 24 months of the establishment the tribunal.