Mr McMULLAN (5:56 PM) —I move:

Schedule 1, item 48, page 13 (lines 5 to 6), omit paragraph (2)(b).

I spoke to this amendment at length in the second reading speech and the Minister for Finance and Administration (Mr Fahey) responded to it, in the main, in summing up. I thank him for the positive tone of the response and look forward to hearing the technical issues to which he referred. I accept that the appropriate course in the circumstances that he has outlined is that this is a matter that we will deal with in detail in the Senate after the government has had more time to consider it. Hopefully then we can come to some agreement. Of course, I will still formally move the amendment, and I am interested in hearing the minister's response. I appreciate the positive nature of it.

This amendment deals with this question of the two-year waiting period. I do not think that is a logical basis, and I outlined that before. It would be tedious repetition to do it further. We are all trying to create a circumstance in which every Australian who should be entitled to vote is and nobody who is not entitled to vote can. That is the agreed set of principles that we are trying to implement. It is a question of whether this is or some alternative version is the best provision to do it. This amendment is our preferred version, but we do not have a closed mind to the government suggesting a better way of achieving the shared goal we have. This is not a matter of a partisan contention; it is a question of trying in the best way we can to ensure that Australians who happen to be overseas and who wish to participate in our democratic process are facilitated in doing so.