Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I was going to say more but I am glad it has been clarified.

I support my two colleagues, Senators Brian Hayes and O'Toole, on the need to delay the next stage of the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003 because there is a Bill on today's Order Paper in the name of the Labour Party that would meet the Government's single biggest problem, which is the release of Government papers. This would enable us to have an intelligent and reasonably paced deliberation on the future operation of the Freedom of Information Act by extending the time restriction on the release of papers to six years. If the Leader wants to deal with this major Government concern, she can accept our Bill for debate and we will facilitate its passage. She should do so rather than have us participate in the potential farce of debating amendments and topics that will be overtaken by the conclusions and deliberations of a joint committee of both Houses. The latter course would waste parliamentary time, particularly when we seem to be very busy.

Senators should have a good look at yesterday's edition of The Star, now the most widely circulated newspaper in the country, because I could not have written its editorial even at my most vituperative. The editorial presents a very easily understood analysis of what is wrong with the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill, which will enlighten even the most obdurate of Members opposite. I suggest that everybody read it because—