COMMITTEES

Senator WATERS (Queensland—Leader of the Australian Greens) (17:05): I seek leave to make a short statement. The PRESIDENT: Leave is granted for one minute. Senator WATERS: We welcomed the Senate's support earlier today for my amendment that called on the government to work with all elected groups and individuals in the parliament to develop a fair and independent staffing model for allocating personal staff that reflects the diversity of representation as elected by the Australian people and addresses staff wellbeing and sustainability of workload.

The right way to do that is not to send this matter to a Liberal-controlled Senate committee. Politicians' pay and entitlements aren't decided by a Senate committee, and staffing levels and welfare shouldn't be either. The independent PWSS ran a review of staff resourcing and supports earlier this year, and 500 staff participated in that review.

The review made 10 key recommendations, and I'm pleased that the government has committed to implementing those. The Greens will be focused on ensuring that that does in fact occur. I've written to the Special Minister of State asking for a timetable for implementing the Independent Review of Resourcing in Parliamentarian Offices recommendations and asking for PWSS to take note of our second reading amendment on staff wellbeing.