INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS LEGISLATION REVIEW
The Hon. J. P. HANNAFORD: My question is addressed to the Attorney General, and Minister for Industrial Relations. I draw his attention to the answer he gave to the House earlier in response to my question about the availability of copies of the industrial relations bill. Can he explain the inconsistency between the answer that he gave and the advice which has been given by officers of his department during question time that they do not have available copies of the bill? Not only do they not have copies now; they have not had copies available to give to the public for the last two days. Can he also explain why, in view of the unavailability of the bill, he will not give an assurance to the House and to the public that the time for responses to the bill will be extended?
The Hon. J. W. SHAW: It is obvious why the Leader of the Opposition is focusing on a matter of trivia and procedure rather than on substance. We have a very good draft bill that has been very well received. The major employer bodies had it last week. It is printed and it is available. It was available yesterday; it is available today.
The Hon. J. P. Hannaford: It is not.
The Hon. J. W. SHAW: I am informed that it is available. The Leader of the Opposition has his copy, does he not?
The Hon. J. P. Hannaford: You sent me a copy, which I received today.
The Hon. J. W. SHAW: Indeed. I gave you a courtesy copy. The bill is available. I am informed that the department has copies. We have copies in my office if the Leader of the Opposition wants to pick them up.