Senator HARRADINE (4:06 PM) —I will be very brief. I ask for the Senate's indulgence to spare a thought for the Independents. For example, today I was up at 6.15 a.m., and my first meeting here was at 7.30 a.m. I had a Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee meeting at 8.30 a.m., and then another meeting at 10 o'clock. That is not counting the representations that were fitted in, and listening to the various debates. I had another meeting at 12.15 p.m., and another at one o'clock. It is difficult as an Independent. I am concerned about the extension of hours and the pressures that that puts on our staff in particular, let alone us, as Senator Bartlett said. Nobody worries about us! But consideration for the staff is important. They do an extraordinary job under difficult circumstances, because we have to get through every piece of legislation. When hours are extended, if you are not there, somebody on staff is there monitoring what is going on.

I most wanted to raise my concern about the logjam. Always at this time—and also just before Christmas—there is a logjam of bills. There is a need to get those bills attended to, but I am concerned that this could react against proper consideration of legislation. For example, the medical indemnity matter is going to seriously affect the medical profession in my state of Tasmania, but I am more concerned about the patients. It is going to seriously affect patients in my state. If ever there was a measure that called for a committee reference, that is one. Yet the government goes to the opposition and says, `Unless we get this through today or tomorrow, there will be a great deal of problems. It has to come in on 30 June, and we won't have time to make the arrangements.' I question that, but I do believe that it is unfortunate that the opposition have caved in on this—I thought that they would not. They were going to support the reference, which is absolutely essential. I regret that these circumstances all combine to put pressure on the opposition to just let it through, irrespective of the damage that is done. I do not intend to make a deal of this, or oppose the measure if it is now agreed upon all round, but I do ask that consideration be given to the matter that I raise in respect of staff, particularly the staff of Independent senators.