Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

Three weeks ago when I raised the Multi-Unit Developments Bill and the Property Services (Regulation) Bill, the Leader said they were with the Office of the Attorney General. I thank him for clarifying that at the time but as three weeks have passed, could he make further inquiries about those Bills so they can be brought to the House as soon as possible?

Like other Senators, I congratulate the people of Germany on the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Berlin Wall. I spent some time in Berlin in the 1980s and crossed the wall at Checkpoint Charlie. I was struck by the stark differences between the lives of people living in west Berlin and those living in east Berlin. In 1988, I asked some Germans if they thought they would ever see the wall being taken down and the eventual reunification of the country. They were clearly of the view that it would not happen in their lifetimes. The fact that it did is due to the great and brave work of many people, some of whom were mentioned in the House this morning. I wish to emphasise two in particular, Helmut Kohl and Mikhail Gorbachev. Without the latter's policy of perestroika and glasnost in the early 1980s, this could never have happened. It is thanks to him, people like him and the countless thousands of others who applied pressure that Germany is a safer and better place, as is Europe and the rest of the world.