Senator FAULKNER (Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (12:45 PM) —The opposition support this legislation. The measures in the Parliamentary Service Amendment Bill 2001 will enhance mobility between the Australian Public Service and the Parliamentary Service for employees who are employed in either service on an ongoing basis. Mobility between these services has been consistently supported by the opposition. We believe the movement of staff between the two services will enhance the vitality and effectiveness of both.

We also recognise the need for the technical amendment that rectifies a problem with the drafting of the original bill which would have required amending legislation each time there was a change to the name of a parliamentary department. Naturally, any motion before the parliament to change the name of a parliamentary department would be scrutinised very closely indeed by the opposition. But there is nothing more I wish to add in the debate on the second reading of this bill, because the bill has the support of the opposition.