Mr CREAN (4:40 PM) —Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I know it is out of order because the debate has essentially been closed, but I appreciate the response that the Treasurer has given. I only received it as he was talking, and therefore it does require me to look at not so much the detail of the letter—that is easy enough to follow—but the associated detail in the attachments, which are, as I understood him to say, the drafting instructions.

Mr Costello —They are what will be going to the Parliamentary Counsel.

Mr CREAN —I understand that they will be, in essence, the drafting instructions to the Parliamentary Counsel. So it is against that background that I want the opportunity to consider them. As to the second point, I think that is a significant commitment by the government to introduce all the business tax changes announced in full. I will reserve my remarks on the third point to the consideration in detail stage because they can be properly dealt with there. To meet the Treasurer's point, when he asked whether the letter sent to him earlier today by me was a genuine offer: I only make genuine offers, and that was another one of them. Therefore, we want to consider the detail of this. I will respond to the Treasurer as quickly as I can, although immediately after this bill we have another 250 amendments to his GST bill—the millennium man now has more than 1,000 amendments to his GST even before the millennium has come. I undertake to get back to the Treasurer as soon as I can.

Question put:

That the words proposed to be omitted (Mr Cox's amendment) stand part of the question.