Senator BROWN(11.54 a.m.) —I would see that proposal as a backup proposal, but I would not like to lose the initiative here. To accommodate Senator Murray and I hope the Labor Party's certain reticence about it and to make the government the proactive agent—because it has the ability to alter this—I seek leave to move an amendment to my first amendment.

Leave granted.

Senator BROWN —I move:

Omit "1 July 1997", substitute "1 January 1998".

The amendment seeks to change the commencement date from 1 July 1997 to 1 January 1998. This would give seven months for this proposal to be considered and, if the government does find fault with it, it can come back to the Senate with an amendment which would deal with that fault. I think that is the positive way of dealing with this and I put that to the committee.

I strongly advocate this course because the government would then be charged with the responsibility of looking at this terrific proposal and coming up with some amendments to it which will ensure that the promise is kept but that any disbenefits, which I am unaware of, are also dealt with. The government has the ability to do that; I do not.

I do not think the committee should lose this initiative. It is too good an initiative to be lost in a maze of attempts by me as a single Australian Green senator in here trying to get through the system and getting this back on board. I know I cannot do it. The government can. Let us put the onus onto the government by having this six-month delay which Senator Murray has proposed and move on.