Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to my amendment in opposition to the minister's amendment to my amendment—and I kept checking with the clerk that I actually got that second bit in there so I could speak on the opposition to the amendment raised by the minister. There is no inconsistency in our position. We on this side of the chamber have got strong commitment to small business and we share the concern that small business needs to be supported in our community. This is not some kind of arm-wrestle about who is more committed to small business. Basically, what we are asking for in this process is: this bill has some complexities in the transfer of responsibilities between the existing Small Business Commissioner and the newly created Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman. It is the creation of a new position. We want to see that there is an effective opportunity for the Senate—and, through the Senate, for the community—to have a close look at what the impact of the changes will be, at the responsibility of the changes and at whether there is any overlap that may occur between the two positions and their organisations, and also to look at the actual impact of this change.

We are not asking for an extensive delay in this process. Again, there is no need for this bill to be done in this particular sitting—or by the 24th, if the minister's amendment to my amendment gets up. The delay of one sitting week, in having a reporting date on 11 August, gives us the opportunity of the break to have the appropriate committee, the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, look at the legal aspects of the changes, giving them an opportunity to have public input. People are interested in this area—and there is great interest in this area, about how it will operate, and the way that the overlap will happen, and how the new organisation will operate into the future. The Small Business Commissioner will continue to operate in this period. There will be no lack of service to any groups that would need support or information from the process. Again, what we are asking for is a chance for the Senate to do its job. The Senate has the opportunity, through the appropriate committees, to review the legislation, to inquire into it and get submissions and information from the community and from organisations about concerns that they may have with the process, and then to make recommendations back to the parliament about the strength of the bill and how we can possibly improve it. This is not a delaying tactic. It is an opportunity for us to do our job and for the committee to bring back the recommendations in the first sitting week of August so then we can make a decision which fulfils our commitment to small business. It has no intent to delay. It only allows proper scrutiny of legislation.