Independent Senators happy with changes in new bill

Two In­de­pen­dent sen­a­tors have ac­knowl­edged im­prove­ments in the Gov­ern­ment’s pro­posed Spe­cial Op­er­a­tions Bill com­pared with the de­feat­ed Zones of Spe­cial Op­er­a­tions (ZOSO) leg­is­la­tion, but say con­cerns re­main over sev­er­al key pro­vi­sions.

In­de­pen­dent Sen­a­tor Michael Si­mon Vic­tor de la Bastide yes­ter­day raised con­cerns about claus­es gov­ern­ing cur­fews and cor­dons with­in des­ig­nat­ed closed ar­eas.

Speak­ing with Guardian Me­dia out­side Par­lia­ment, de la Bastide said some of the is­sues high­light­ed by the In­de­pen­dent Bench dur­ing de­bate on the ZOSO Bill ear­li­er this year ap­pear to have been ad­dressed. He al­so wel­comed the in­clu­sion of a sun­set clause, which he had pre­vi­ous­ly ad­vo­cat­ed for.