Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

In the discussion we were having about this bill before question time—and I don't think you were in the chamber at that point when this came up—Senator Shoebridge was asking why we weren't prepared to give examples of what exceptional circumstances might be. The answer I gave him was that we wanted to preserve the commission's independence by not dictating to them or limiting them as to what the exceptional circumstances could be. We're trying to strike the right balance here, between providing the commission with the measures that it requires along with making sure that people involved in the commission are given appropriate natural justice. We think that by granting the commission power to have public hearings in exceptional circumstances without setting down exactly what those circumstances are and leaving it to the commission to determine for themselves is the appropriate balance.