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

I certainly am not going to tell you that somebody might not choose to challenge the laws. Under the Constitution, anyone with the relevant interest can challenge a law on the grounds of constitutionality. But I cannot really do better than remind you of what I said in my speech on the second reading. Let me say it again: nobody should make hard and fast predictions about what may be decided by the High Court, and I do not intend to do so. That is a mistake that has been made by other attorneys-general in the past and it is not a mistake I intend to make myself. But what I can say is that the government has been informed by the best legal advice we can get, including from the Solicitor-General, Mr Gleeson SC; the Australian Government Solicitor; and constitutional law specialists within the Attorney-General's Department in order to ensure that the legislation is as strong as we can make it from a constitutional point of view.