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

The government will also be opposing this amendment. As I mentioned in the earlier discussion, the changes that are being proposed in this bill would increase the number of members of the committee, and that is about making it easier for the committee to manage its workload. As I've already pointed out, it would create a greater capacity to establish subcommittees, to undertake some of the work that the committee is required to do. As for the composition of the committee, as Senator Paterson is aware, the current legislation does not dictate a certain number of government or opposition members, and we don't believe it's necessary to dictate that in the way that Senator Paterson's amendment would do.