Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I don't take the same view, nor does the government take the same view, as the EDO in relation to the resources sector. But, unlike you, we don't feel the need to shut people down. Unlike you, we actually think that there is a legal system in place which ought protect the interests of all. If there are loopholes, as you assert, then they should be brought to the attention of the legislature and the executive.

Essentially, your position is: 'We want to make sure that people with whom we don't agree don't have the capacity to take action.' We simply don't have the same view as you do about our judicial system and our legal system. My recollection is that those opposite put gag clauses into various NGO funding arrangements. You don't want organisations saying that what the government is doing is wrong. I mean, that's not democracy! (Time expired)