Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

The government won't be supporting this amendment. I acknowledge the contribution made by Senator Steele-John and the views that he has outlined to the chamber, but the government doesn't accept the arguments that he's putting. I would say this bill hasn't been rushed. There have been two significant rounds of consultation. The first one led to the drafting of the bill. Subsequent to that, there was another comprehensive round of consultations and then, of course, a Senate committee process. So that's a response to those criticisms. I would also say I accept the view that Senator Steele-John has put about the use of the word 'inclusive'. I would say that there is strong support from the disability community—I'm not arguing that there aren't those that might support your position, Senator Steele-John—who have commended the focus on inclusion in the drafting and development of this bill. For those reasons, we think it's important to retain those and, as such, will be opposing the Greens' amendment.