Senator MARGETTS (9:26 PM) —A number of the arguments that have been made in tonight's debate on the child support legislation actually add weight to my original request at the end of the second reading stage that we should not have dealt with this whole package until we knew the tax situation and knew whether or not the government had got their tax package through. The reality is, as Senator Evans has indicated, that a number of people will be uncertain. It always concerns me that the government is very concerned about uncertainty for business, but rarely shows the same interest in changes and uncertainty for ordinary people.

The minister suggested earlier on in the debate that somehow or other we can come back at a later date if the rest of the tax package does not get through and somehow stitch together all the pieces.

Senator Newman —I did not!

Senator MARGETTS —In fact, the minister said in her contribution at the second reading stage that I was heartless to suggest that the legislation should be delayed and that we should wait until we knew what was happening with tax before we dealt with the impacts on child support. I suggested that it would be better to know what the impacts were on a GST—if there is a GST—and other things like a fringe benefits tax. I suggested it would be better to know where we stood before we changed this because otherwise we would have to go around and stitch up the pieces. It is a heck of a lot more difficult to try and pick up the pieces of destroyed families and lives later.

The government has no real problem about changing the rules for ordinary people, especially those on smaller incomes. It is no wonder there is a high level of disillusion within Australian society today. Their concern is about certainty for people in businesses. There is no real concern that the rules are being changed and that the rug is going to be pulled out from under a number of people. There is no real interest in finding ways to make sure that people on the lowest incomes, and who can ill afford it, will be no worse off.

It is very disturbing, but it is a common theme in the legislation that is being shoved through by this particular government.

Question put:

That the requested amendment (Senator Chris Evans's ) be agreed to.