Rex Patrick (SA, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

I do understand the concept of 'market driven'; I was referring to discussions that may have taken place during the deliberations in respect of the treaty. Surely the government, as they were going through the machinations of considering the terms of the bill, would have looked at this and said, 'What does that mean for Australia?' I don't necessarily expect them to be right, because, as you correctly say, they're market driven. But it is not so much a hypothetical as it is an issue of fact. During the deliberations, when the Australian government was working on this agreement, did it ever look at the numbers of workers that it thought might come in as a result of the treaty coming into force?