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

We are not supporting this amendment. We believe that the information we received, not always immediately from the departments in our examination through the committee process, gave us the confidence that we would be able to move forward with the legislation at this time, provided that there is the injection of resources into ensuring that the publicity and information campaigns and also the maintenance of the register are both put in place. So we have accepted the department's views that that will occur and will ensure that the starting date can be the original in the legislation.

But I would like to take the opportunity in this committee stage to ask the minister for some comments on the committee recommendation, which you know very well, Mr Acting Deputy President Seselja, that there will be a review process in the department to ensure, as Senator Macdonald pointed out in his contribution, the need for this particular legislation to have a quite specific review process through the department to ensure that it is working and that the objections that have been put forward by many people in the community are taken seriously—that this is an important element of our agreement to the whole process.