Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I understand the government would not be supporting this amendment. I am deeply concerned. Again, it is the same argument as for the advisory group: we do not think it is appropriate to include this in delegated legislation and regulation. It is a key part of the approach that we take to biosecurity risk assessment and, therefore, it should be part of the legislation. The same argument stands: if it is in regulation, it is much easier to get rid of that regulation under a new government. This is long-term legislation. The Quarantine Act was in place for a very long time, and it has taken a long time to amend. You could not get rid of such a scientific group if it was actually in the legislation as easily as you could if it was in regulation. It takes a lot more thought to get that process changed. So our argument stands that the establishment of this particular group, because of its essential role in biosecurity risk assessment, should actually be part of the legislation.

I ask the government: when is the regulatory process going to be undertaken to put this body in place? What is the time frame for that and how soon can we expect to see it?