Senator MURRAY(1.05 p.m.) —The Australian Democrats will not oppose this bill. We are aware that this process of reforming the Corporations Law was commenced under the previous government and has been continued under this government, although not with this particular act. We are also aware of the very intense effort and the great deal of work put into it by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Senator Campbell. I am sure it is very much appreciated by those who will benefit from these changes.

However, I draw to the attention of the parliamentary secretary, and I take this opportunity to indicate, that we would like to encourage the government, as its next step along this process, to examine the process of democratisation of boards and of directors.   This is not a new issue internationally. I refer senators to the international capital markets group reference entitled `Who holds the reins: international corporate governance'. I also refer senators to a very good article by Shann Turnbull in the Australian Financial Review yesterday. It quoted an extract from a paper for the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program Conference at the ANU on Friday, of which possibly the parliamentary secretary is well aware.

What this paper focused on is the unacceptability of control groups being able to distort the way in which boards are managed and governed. We believe it is in the interests of shareholders at large and in the interests of Australia for that arena to be addressed by the government.

If the parliamentary secretary wishes to have any input from us, we would be more than happy to participate with the government in advancing that agenda. Accordingly, I record the support of the Australian Democrats for the Corporations Law Amendment (ASX) Bill 1997.