Senator BROWN(9.43 a.m.) —by leave—Without anticipating an order of the day, I would like to say that I do not want to see any senator here feeling under great personal pressure because of the delay of a motion like this, having it hanging over her head for months and months. I have seen this happen at state parliamentary level in Tasmania. It is crucifying. I think we can do better than that. I think the Senate's energies ought to be going into rectifying the quite untoward circumstances of the constitution, a glitch in the constitution, which has led to this situation, rather than pursuing an individual who has been caught up by it.

That is my stand on this predicament in which Senator Ferris finds herself. I have made that clear to her and to the opposition. I think we would be much better to take her off the burner, so to speak, get out our microscope and magnifying glass, look at the constitution and act on it, so that we do not have future senators and members of another place being caught up by a section of the constitution which I do not think was ever intended to catch them up in that way.

Question resolved in the negative.