Maurice Hayes (Independent)

It is not for me to throw in the towel for Senator Henry or the other proposers of these amendments. I am grateful to the Minister for the cogency of his argument. I agree with him, to a certain extent, about the distinction between the fundamental purposes of this Bill and the 2001 Act. Although I argued for the adoption of the definition, I do not think I could support Senator Henry's argument that one could take parts of the definition while omitting others. If one does not take on board the entire definition, one is not dealing with the definition.

Most of us are concerned about the subsequent treatment of people. It is a question of one's opinion of whether a person is fit to plead, under the standards set down, or whether they could be held responsible for the action. Such conditions apply at a certain time. The reference to the Mental Health Act 2001 in section 4 is quite reasonable. The Bill states that if people need treatment, they should be treated in accordance with the 2001 Act, which is what we want.

Like other speakers, I encourage the Minister to keep the threshold quite high. That is important, in terms of public respect for the law, because it does not do anybody any good if people are able to plead on what most lay people would see as silly grounds. I am satisfied for the moment with the Minister's explanation of his position.