Barry O'Sullivan (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Brandis, I apologise in advance if you or anyone else in the chamber had to endure my presentation earlier, on the second reading, but I will take a little bit of time to lay down the basis for my question, and I will value your comments.

I have five or six matters, but I will deal with them one at a time. My first area of interest is to understand what changes will occur as a result of these amendments to the process. I might just set the scene. I spoke earlier, as did a number of other speakers, with respect to the QUT issue, where, as you know, there were three students who became entangled in the process over a period of time. It would appear to me—and you may contradict me—as if there were an absence of natural justice in some aspects of how that particular case was managed. In particular, it would seem that there was a long period of time where at least one of the students, and perhaps all of them, was not even aware that the process was in train, thereby of course denying them any ability they may have had, with a contemporary memory, to be able to, for want of a better term, defend themselves, or at least give instructions to those who might provide them with professional advice.

As it went on, it is said that they received pro bono assistance from legal identities in the process. Quotes have been made that, had they needed to engage legal assistance, the cost of such legal support might have been greater than $10,000 per person. As I said earlier, I found, based on my experiences in life in dealing with lawyers—and I do not want to reflect adversely on lawyers; I am surrounded, it would seem—