Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Whish-Wilson has expressed the position quite clearly but, as I've said on other occasions, the nature of these bills is that they're not subject to amendment. We'd actually made these points in a second reading amendment which the Greens voted against, as I understand it, last night.

Let's be clear: this is a customs bill. In terms of the factual situation with regard to the agreement which the government has already signed and has agreed to, the agreement, which is itself not the subject of these bills, explicitly states at article 27.2 that there will be reviews after three years and then every five years. A review was built into the agreement before the review that is being proposed in this amendment. So, whatever complaint you have on many other things, the review process in the current stated agreement is actually superior to the proposed amendment. We will not be supporting it.