Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

In the absence of Senator David Pocock, who has circulated an amendment that I presume he would like moved, I'm standing and perhaps giving him some ample time, as he may be making his way to the chamber. If he doesn't appear momentarily, then I'll speak to his amendment on his behalf. It's an amendment that the Greens will be supporting. It's in relation to amendments that were moved in the House that said that the opposition automatically gets the deputy chair on the oversight committee for the IPSC.

Now, I did refer to this in my second reading contribution. It's not appropriate for the two-party system to continue to stack the deck in its own favour, when support for both of the big parties is diminishing at every election—and, frankly, for good reason. It is overreach in the extreme to pre-emptively dedicate these positions to particular political parties. On that basis, the Greens will be supporting this amendment, and, in the absence of Senator Pocock, I might take the liberty of moving it on his behalf. Therefore, I move amendment (1) on sheet 2895 standing in the name of Senator David Pocock:

(1) Schedule 1, item 3, page 6 (line 23), omit "a member of the Opposition".