Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I support Senator Regan's points. In the context of what the Minister said about the caution with which the Attorney General approached the issue of primary versus secondary legislation, it is interesting it was thought better, for example, to make changes to the value of money in the Bill through primary rather than secondary legislation. In my earlier response to the Minister on amendment No. 3 I acknowledged this was probably a cautious and wise approach to take, but I believe Senator Regan's proposed amendment is in keeping with the caution to which the Attorney General adheres. Senator Regan suggests that the provisions in section 11(1) currently give the Minister too much power to make changes through regulation. I am grateful to the Senator for his point about my amendment to section 11. It is somewhat different in that it simply provides that the Minister will have power to ensure there is a centralised statistical system of gathering into place sentencing data. It is different from the notion that the Minister can change aspects of the legislation through regulation and, therefore, I support Senator Regan's amendment.