Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I seek leave to recommit the vote on my amendment to the opposition’s second reading amendment.

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I want to be absolutely clear on what Senator Ludlam said. He may, as he was walking back in, have been fully au fait with what was happening but I am not sure. Perhaps I can briefly say that the government sought to amend the first part of the opposition’s second reading amendment by removing the words ‘regional Australia’ and inserting the words ‘the national interest’ so that the amendment would read:

… calls on the Minister when approving a Nation Building Program Off-Network project to consider the extent to which the project benefits the national interest …

rather than, as we had it, ‘benefits regional Australia’. The whole point of the amendment with which I thought Senator Ludlam agreed was that it was highlighting that this was money that had been set aside for regional Australia and which was now going into the cities. It was simply alerting them to that. Perhaps Senator Ludlam did understand that but I am not sure which way he was calling. Could we get clarification of that before giving Senator Conroy leave to recommit?

Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—Thank you to both sides. I would like to clarify this so that we can move on and conclude the debate. I was certainly aware of the amendment which we were debating—the one that was written by hand on the back of an envelope, as you put it, Senator Macdonald. I apologise that I was out of the room at the time. I have been advised that essentially the amendment is somewhat redundant as some of this funding is destined for metropolitan areas. It therefore would be a little curious for the minister to be considering how the project benefits regional Australia when not all of these projects will be occurring in regional Australia. The minister can correct me, I suppose, if that is an incorrect reading of the amendment, but that is certainly the intention with which we support the government’s amendment.

Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question now is that Senator Conroy’s amendment to Senator Macdonald’s second reading amendment be agreed to.

Question agreed to.

The question now is that the second reading amendment moved by Senator Macdonald, as amended, be agreed to.

Question agreed to.

The question now is that the motion, as amended, be agreed to.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.