Mr RUDDOCK (Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Reconciliation) (8:52 PM) —The shadow minister for justice and customs has been very full in his comments and has foreshadowed much of what I was going to say, so I will not elaborate in any detail. The government does not accept the proposed amendment requiring notification to airlines and the shipping industry and that I make a report to the House on these measures. However, I will ensure that the amendments are notified as widely as possible. I have no intention of exposing people to risk, and if there are people I should write to that the shadow minister would care to put before me I would be more than happy to add their names to my own list to ensure that it is as full and complete as possible. It is certainly my intention that it should be widely known. Members would know that, of course, ignorance of the law is no excuse, generally speaking, but from a policy point of view, when we are dealing with these important questions of people smuggling and the fact that the penalties are significant, it is important that the amendments to law that outline the wider range of circumstances in which interdiction is possible are widely disseminated.

Amendment negatived.