Senator WOODLEY(4.37 p.m.) —I move:

Schedule 1, item 49, page 133 (after line 9), at the end of section 249C, add:

   (3)   In Schedule 1, a reference to a State or Territory Act or Ordinance is a reference to the Act or Ordinance as at 23 December 1996 or to an Act or Ordinance repealed or amended before that date.

This amendment will avoid any uncertainty about the confirmation of exclusive possession and close off any prospective loophole that would allow state and territory governments to amend their legislation listed in schedule 4 and then alter the purpose of this provision.

I understand that the government has agreed to this provision and that, indeed, goes to creating certainty with regard to the parliament's intention with regard to previous exclusive possession acts. In effect, this amendment put a lid on the bucket.