The Hon. S.G. WADE (23:18): In summing up I would like to thank honourable members for their contributions; namely, the Hon. Carmel Zollo, the Hon. Mark Parnell, the Hon. Ann Bressington, the Hon. Ian Hunter and the Hon. Kelly Vincent.

In so doing I would particularly like to acknowledge the comments of the Hon. Carmel Zollo. I was pleasantly surprised to hear her response on behalf of the government, and I quote the key section:

The government agrees that there should be some extension in the Coroner's power to make recommendations; however, this bill goes too far. The government is also not convinced of the need to amend the reporting requirements under the act.

That is a significant shift from the government's contribution to predecessor bills to this bill and I believe it offers some hope that the government will, if you like, come into the conversation.

As I have indicated to the house previously, this is not a Liberal bill. It was initially the product of the Hon. Sandra Kanck; developed by the Hon. David Winderlich. The Liberal Party took it up in this parliament and, true to that heritage, was very much engaged with the Hon. John Darley to develop it.

I would also like to acknowledge the range of stakeholders that I mentioned in my second reading speech. This has been very much a collaborative project, both within the parliament and beyond.

Having acknowledged the Hon. Carmel Zollo's comments on behalf of the government that the government does see the need for reform, I hope that if the council does support this bill tonight (and I do expect that will happen) the government might look for an early opportunity—which might be tomorrow when the bill turns up in the House of Assembly—to amend it.

After all, the government has criticised the opposition and, for that matter, the whole of this council, for not amending bills. If this bill does have some merit, which the government is indicating is so, then we would be more than open to talking about how it can be improved. I thank honourable members for their contributions and hope that the council might see fit to pass the second reading so that we might consider it further in committee.

Bill read a second time.