Watts SimonSIMON WATTS (National—North Shore): Thank you very much Mr Chair. I want to refer to Supplementary Order Paper 365 in the name of Andrew Bayly who is proposing the addition of new clause 48A which is part of Part 4 of the Miscellaneous" section that we're currently discussing. And this Supplementary Order Paper is—well I think it's quite a sensible recommendation from Mr Andrew Bayly. And that's not to say that his normal recommendations are not sensible; it's just more reinforcing the fact that this is particularly sensible. But what is proposed here is the addition of a review of the Act clause in which the Minister must within one year of the commencement of this Act and then subsequently in two-yearly intervals arrange for an independent review of the operation and effectiveness of this Act. And as has been highlighted I think throughout the passing of this bill to date there are and remain a number of concerns in terms of the bill's operation and effectiveness. And while I acknowledge the Government's desire to pass this into law—and actually will by majority—I think the inclusion of the ability for the bill to have a formal review around those components noted is something that on this side of the House if anything would add some value. And in regards to 48A(2) the aspects in relation to what that review would consider include the interrelationship around some of the interrelated Government policy aspects; we talk about electronic invoicing and also payment terms and other aspects that relate to the interrelationship with small-business suppliers. I think it's important with any independent review process that this is undertaken in a timely manner and reports back to the Minister. And so we're suggesting under new clause 48A(3) that this would occur within a six-month period which seems again quite pragmatic. And lastly of course in terms of full disclosure ensuring that the Minister presents a copy of that report back to this House as soon as practical thereafter. And I think overall the value that will be created through the addition of this new clause in this bill will in effect put the belts and braces review mechanism in place. Some may say "Well you know end of the day Government can do that anyway" but I think in this case because it has quite an impact in regards to the overall operation in payment terms—it's in the detail. I think having this in there and regular review is important. I think it's also important to acknowledge that the way in which payments to businesses occur is being enhanced continuously by the use of technology. And you know the good old days of getting an invoice in the mail and writing a cheque and sending the cheque off by mail are well gone. But you know one can envisage even within a couple of years from now potentially where we are at in regards to making payments to businesses—and no doubt in many cases already across our economy—that actually this may potentially be a point where it's completely automated and even occur on a real-time basis. So the need for such legislation could quite quickly become redundant because of technology. So I ask that the Minister to consider Supplementary Order Paper 365 on the basis on which it has been presented as being constructive and helpful and I would appreciate any comments in regards to that and of course we'll take that on board and work with the Government. Thank you."