Mr ROSS CAMERON (Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer) (6:35 PM) —I move:

The Senate amendments remove an important measure from the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (No. 7) 2003. The measure would specifically list deductible gift recipients by way of regulation rather than by the present slow and administratively cumbersome requirement of amending the principal legislation. This measure would benefit the organisations that had been granted DGR status as well as the donors who generously contribute to these worthy organisations. Streamlining the listing process will improve the timeliness within which they will get certainty over the tax treatment of those donations. I know that, in my own electorate of Parramatta, the St Patrick's Cathedral rebuilding fund has benefited greatly by being listed as a DGR. The cathedral is of historical significance not only to the Parramatta community but also to Sydney itself. The fund assists the community to rebuild the cathedral, which was destroyed by fire in 1996.

However, like so many other deductible gift recipients, St Patrick's experienced a delay in being added to the law, which detracted from their ability to draw donations from the general public, particularly during the period when there was the greatest newsworthiness and public sympathy for the cause. My point is simply that the current process is unnecessarily slow and cumbersome. The government is of the belief that the reasonable alternative to the current process, which would significantly reduce these delays and problems they cause, would be to list DGRs by regulation rather than by requiring an amendment to the principal legislation.

It is disappointing that the Senate has again insisted on these amendments; however, with a view to achieving passage of the other important measures within the bill, the government is reluctantly prepared to accept these Senate amendments at this time. In line with this government's commitment to modernising and streamlining the arrangements for the non-profit sector, however, we will be seeking further opportunities to have this matter considered by the parliament in the future.