Crimes and Other Legislation Amendment (Omnibus No. 1) Bill 2026

Senator GREEN (Queensland—Assistant Minister for Tourism, Assistant Minister for Pacific Island Affairs and Assistant Minister for Northern Australia) (11:51): As foreshadowed, I move the government amendment on sheet TK115: (1) Amendment (2), repeal subsection 4(2), substitute: (2) Without limiting subsection (1), the inquiry must consider any unintended consequences of the amendments made by Schedule 4.

This is an amendment to the opposition's amendment. I also table the supplementary memorandum relating to the government amendment moved to this bill. Senator Cash, you've used the language 'pressing need'; I don't think that's the language that the government would use to reflect the change.

We think that this change streamlines the process of managing an actual perceived or potential conflict of interest that might be identified by the Director of Public Prosecutions. It certainly ensures that the Attorney-General can authorise a sufficiently senior person to perform the powers and functions ordinarily, and it ensures that that process that I spoke to you about is not currently required.

At the moment, it is administratively burdensome and inefficient for the director of the CDPP, the Attorney-General and the Attorney-General's Department to be involved in that process. This measure creates a process whereby the functions or powers affected by the conflict of interest can be undertaken by a sufficiently senior person while the director appropriately carries out performing functions or duties that are so affected.

That ensures that the CDPP can continue to operate as required by the parliament and its establishing legislation, and that where the Attorney-General makes an authorisation for those powers the conflict of interest is adequately managed. I think you would agree that, if there were a conflict of interest for the Director of Public Prosecutions, that should be managed in an appropriate way and that it would not be appropriate for the director to use their power of delegation to delegate the performance of the relevant function or exercise of the relevant power in circumstances where they've identified a conflict of interest.

I wouldn't mirror the language that you've used of 'pressing need'. There are other provisions in this legislation that do have a more urgency for the government, but this is something that establishes a very good practice that we should be implementing as a parliament.