COMMITTEES

Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (11:48): I wish to move an amendment to the amendment moved by the Manager of Government Business in the Senate, but I also request that the two provisions be voted on separately. In the first instance, at the request of Senator Duniam, I move: At the end of the motion, add: "and, in respect of: (a) the Commonwealth Entities Legislation Amendment Bill 2026, the bill be referred immediately to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 27 March 2026; and (b) the Treasury Laws Amendment (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Bill 2026 and the Superannuation (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Imposition Bill 2026, the provisions of the bills be referred immediately to the Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 31 March 2026".

The PRESIDENT: Because there are overlapping amendments, the Clerk has suggested that, at this point, we move only part (a), recognising your other amendments. Senator RUSTON: On that basis, I will speak to only part (a). I move: Paragraph (a), omit "not be referred to a committee", substitute "be referred immediately to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 27 March 2026".

The coalition is seeking to refer the Commonwealth Entities Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee to ensure the proposed governance changes are properly scrutinised and fully understood. While the bill is presented as a measure to modernise accountability frameworks for statutory office holders, several elements of these reforms, particularly the introduction of minister-set performance standards, appear to be novel and warrant closer examination.

A committee inquiry would allow the parliament to test whether these changes are appropriate and consistent with governance arrangements that apply to other Commonwealth statutory office holders. A Senate inquiry will provide an opportunity to clarify whether specific operational and management issues prompted these reforms and whether the government intends to extend similar measures to other statutory bodies into the future.

The proposed reforms allow ministers to set written performance standards that may form the basis for termination. This raises important governance questions, particularly as these standards are not legislative instruments and may not be subject to parliamentary oversight. An inquiry would enable stakeholders and affected agencies to provide evidence on how these performance standards would operate in practice, including whether there are adequate safeguards such as consultation, transparency and rights of reply.

The bill also introduces new suspension powers and expanded termination grounds, and the committee process would help determine whether appropriate procedural protections exist for statutory office holders subject to these powers. Finally, a Senate inquiry would allow affected agencies to provide submissions and evidence to ensure the parliament has a full understanding of the policy, rationale and implications of this bill.