Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Environment and Water (Senate)) Share this | Hansard source

I want to ask now about changes to reasonable excuses. I note that the Scrutiny of Bills Committee, along with other stakeholders, raised significant concerns about this schedule, particularly that there's no limit in the primary legislation on the matters that could be included in the legislative instrument setting out what must not be considered a reasonable excuse for participation failure. The committee was concerned that the matters that the secretary would be bound not to consider could be made so broad as to undermine the reasonable-excuse provisions as set out in the act. Is that indeed the government's real intention here—to undermine the entire principle of reasonable excuse?