Senator STOTT DESPOJA (5:28 PM) —The Democrats will be supporting these amendments. I thank the minister's office for their explanations as to the purpose of these amendments. On balance, they seem quite reasonable, even if my colleagues have been coming into the chamber, looking at one particular amendment and saying, `What is this "thing" amendment?'

Senator Schacht —Wasn't there something in a movie called `Thing'?

Senator STOTT DESPOJA —That's it. We had to have a reference to The Addams Family , didn't we? So we have the `thing' amendment. The amendments extend the operation of the investigations powers to protect any person who assists in the conduct of the investigation. There is always a balance between making sure that those at fault accept responsibility and, of course, gathering enough information to make sure the investigation is fruitful. The Democrats believe that the balance in these circumstances appears to be reasonable. For that reason we will be supporting the `thing' amendment and the others.