Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General): I would not want honourable members to think I have an unhealthy obsession with the machinery provisions of bills, but I thought Mr Cosgrove made a very helpful contribution. He identified exactly what the problem was in the legislation, which is what happens, perhaps, when we have overly prescriptive provisions in transitional arrangements or commencement clauses.
One of the issues I will look at from a legislative point of view—and I am getting away from the particular bill before the Committee—is whether things can be streamlined, because quite frankly it is not overly satisfactory that we have had to deal with this matter in this way. So from the point of view of an Attorney-General, with responsibility for the Parliamentary Counsel Office, I tell members that I will talk to a few people to make sure that it does not happen again.
