Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Bills
Service Victoria Amendment Bill 2023
Service Victoria Amendment Bill 2023
Statement of compatibility
Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Government Services, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Public and Active Transport) (10:46): In accordance with the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 I table a statement of compatibility in relation to the Service Victoria Amendment Bill 2023.
Opening paragraphs
In accordance with section 28 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (the Charter), I table this Statement of Compatibility with respect to the Service Victoria Amendment Bill 2023 (Bill).
In my opinion, the Bill, as introduced to the Legislative Assembly, is compatible with human rights as set out in the Charter. I base my opinion on the reasons outlined in this Statement.
Overview
The Bill amends the Service Victoria Act 2018 (Service Victoria Act) to enhance Service Victoria’s capacity to act as a central point of access for end-to-end government services by making it easier for more government services to be provided online; enabling simpler, faster and easier access to government services; simplifying and modernising the identity verification process; and improving administrative efficiency throughout the public sector.
The Bill also supports the role of Service Victoria in furthering the digital transformation of the Victorian public sector by ensuring government services can readily adapt to technological changes. The Bill implements a number of recommendations made in the final report of an Independent Review of the operation of the Service Victoria Act, which was undertaken under section 57 of that Act and was tabled in Parliament in June 2022 (Independent Review).
Key reforms to the Service Victoria Act include:
• clarifying the purposes of the Service Victoria Act in recognition of its role of providing a central point for public access to government services and of supporting the digital transformation of government services;
• clearly authorising partnerships between Service Victoria and non-government entities to deliver services jointly or on behalf of one another and other service agencies;
• harmonising the information management and privacy requirements applying to Service Victoria under the Act with those applying to the whole of Victorian government;
• enabling a delegated instrument, the Identity Verification Standards, to deal with the processes governing identity verification so that they are easier to keep up-to-date and in line with modern technology; and
• making a range of minor and technical amendments to support the operation of the Service Victoria Act.
Human Rights Issues
The Bill engages the following human rights under the Charter:
• privacy and reputation (section 13);
• recognition and equality before the law (section 8); and
• taking part in public life (section 18).
For the following reasons, and having taken into account all relevant factors, I am satisfied that the Bill is compatible with the Charter and, if any rights are limited, the limitation is reasonable and able to be justified in a free and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom in accordance with section 7(2) of the Charter.
Right to privacy (section 13 of the Charter)
Section 13 of the Charter states that a person has the right not to have their privacy, family, home or correspondence unlawfully or arbitrarily interfered with.
Subsection 13(a) of the Charter recognises that the right to privacy is only affected if the interference is unlawful or arbitrary. Section 13 therefore permits lawful and non-arbitrary interferences with a person’s privacy. An interference will generally be lawful where it is precise and appropriately prescribed in law; it will generally be arbitrary only where it is capricious, unpredictable, unjust, or unreasonable, in the sense of being disproportionate to some legitimate aim being sought. Section 7(2) of the Charter recognises that while an interference with privacy will engage the rights contained in section 13, it may still constitute a reasonable limitation on those rights.
A number of the reforms in the Bill engage the right to privacy, each of which is discussed below and has been assessed as consistent with the right to privacy in the terms of section 7(2) of the Charter.
Removal of minimum standards
The Bill repeals the minimum standards in the Service Victoria Act, which currently specify the circumstances in which the Service Victoria CEO can collect, use, disclose and retain different categories of information under the Service Victoria Act (clause 28 and 29). This reform is consistent with recommendation 9 of the Independent Review. The Bill also repeals consequential provisions to the minimum standards that would be made redundant by their repeal.
The minimum standards were originally intended to provide additional assurance to stakeholders in relation to the management and use of personal information. However, these requirements are duplicative of and, in some instances, more restrictive than the whole of Victorian government privacy legislation. As a result, the minimum standards can be unnecessarily complicated or restrictive and inhibit the efficient and effective delivery of government services to the community.
In repealing the minimum standards, this reform engages the right to privacy, but does not limit it as Service Victoria continues to be subject to the same rigorous privacy requirements of other Victorian government agencies, being:
• the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (PDP Act) in relation to the collection, use, disclosure, and retention of personal information, as well as the data security requirements under the Victorian Protective Data Security Standards made under the PDP Act;
• the Health Records Act 2001 (HR Act) in relation to the collection, use, disclosure and retention of health information;
• the Public Records Act 1973 (PR Act) in relation to the retention of information. The PR Act incorporates Retention and Disposal Authorities made by the Keeper of Public Records. This includes the Service Victoria Retention and Disposal Authority, developed in 2021 with minimalistic data retention periods to minimise personal information held by Service Victoria;
• the right to privacy in the Charter (section 13);
• the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS);
• oversight mechanisms in relation to the Information Commissioner and the Health Complaints Commissioner;
• additional requirements of the Commonwealth for National Police Checks under Service Victoria’s agreement with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission; and
• potentially in the future, Commonwealth legislation regarding the Trusted Digital Identity System.
This reform is not arbitrary, but rather is reasonable in ensuring Service Victoria’s information management requirements are harmonised with those applying across government. It removes any unnecessary duplications of the privacy requirements outlined above and any additional complicated and restrictive barriers that prevent Service Victoria from delivering its services as quickly as it could if it were subject to the same standards as other government agencies.
Further, existing offence provisions in the Service Victoria Act (sections 50 and 51) will be retained, which provide an additional layer of privacy protection by creating offences for the unauthorised access to, use of or disclosure of data or information obtained under the Service Victoria Act by any person.
Removal of other information privacy requirements
The Bill also repeals other provisions in the Service Victoria Act that restrict and do not accurately reflect the operational practices and requirements of Service Victoria. This includes repealing:
• the requirement that the Service Victoria CEO cannot collect, use or disclose information in a service agency database except for certain listed purposes (clause 30), which are overly limited. This reform addresses concerns raised in the Independent Review. Note that the disclosure of this information will continue to be restricted by privacy legislation except where the disclosure falls into new disclosure categories provided for by the new disclosure provision described below;
• the requirement to establish and maintain a Service Victoria database (clauses 26 and 27). This requirement is not necessary as establishing a database to support Service Victoria’s activities is an operational matter and it is not standard practice for the establishment of a database to occur through legislation; and
• the requirement that information in a service agency database be kept separate from other databases, including other service agency databases (clause 31). This reform will offer more operational flexibility for Service Victoria in performing functions for service agencies by removing unnecessarily complex administrative requirements that are more appropriately dealt with at an operational level.
These reforms do not limit the right to privacy as Service Victoria will continue to be subject to rigorous information privacy requirements and oversight mechanisms consistent with those applying to other government agencies.
New disclosure provision
The Bill introduces a new provision (clause 32) to ensure that the Service Victoria CEO can, for the purposes of performing a function under the Act, disclose information:
• to the entity (‘entity’ is defined to include a person under section 38 of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984) to whom the information relates or on behalf of which the Service Victoria CEO is performing the function, for example, in pre-filling a form with information the person has already provided to Service Victoria;
• with the express or implied consent of the entity to which the information relates or who provided it, for example, to update a customer’s address across multiple services when they move;
• to an entity on behalf of which they are performing the function, or to any entity to whom that agency would be permitted to disclose the data under any other law, for example, an employer verifying a Working with Children check; and
• to allow for unforeseen circumstances, to a entity prescribed in regulations for prescribed purposes.
This reform provides greater clarity on how Service Victoria is authorised to disclose information under law (that is, in accordance with Information Privacy Principle (IPP) 2.1(f) and Health Privacy Principle (HPP) 2.2(c)) for the purposes of whole of Victorian government legislation, while explicitly enabling use of information in certain circumstances as necessary for the effective delivery of Service Victoria’s services, as outlined in Recommendation 10 of the Independent Review.
Service Victoria’s stakeholders require confidence and certainty in the circumstances in which Service Victoria expects to disclose information. The new provision will provide this by clarifying the express circumstances in which Service Victoria may disclose information.
While these reforms engage the right to privacy under the Charter, they do not limit it. Any interference with privacy is not arbitrary, as the reforms have the legitimate purpose of allowing for the disclosure of information where necessary to deliver government services to Victorians. The interference is also not unlawful. The new circumstances in which the Service Victoria CEO may disclose information will be clearly stated in the Service Victoria Act; are generally consistent with the IPPs under the PDP Act and the HR Act; and Service Victoria continues to be subject to Victoria’s legislative information privacy framework to handle information for clear, tailored purposes that are necessary to enable the delivery of public services to individuals choosing to transact with Service Victoria.
Entering agreements with non-government entities
The Bill makes it clear that Service Victoria may enter into agreements with non-government entities in relation to the delivery of ‘customer service functions’, ‘identity verification functions’, or other functions related to the delivery of government services (clause 15). This reform ensures there are no barriers to creating external service delivery partnerships, and partly implements recommendation 2 of the Independent Review.
This reform will not limit the right to privacy under section 13 of the Charter as it is neither unlawful nor arbitrary. It is not unlawful because these new agreements will be set out in the Service Victoria Act, and the agreements themselves with non-government entities will be subject to current Commonwealth and State privacy laws as set out in the relevant agreement. It is not arbitrary because it is reasonable and necessary to allow Service Victoria’s operations to support the legitimate, defined purpose of providing effective and efficient public services to Victorians by partnering with non-government entities.
In addition, the reform may promote the right to privacy by driving privacy and data security improvements in the private sector so that a non-government entity may comply with the terms of an agreement in circumstances where its existing processes or systems do not adhere to current best practice principles.
Depending on the particular service being provided and how it is being provided, non-government entities may be required under sections 4, 6 and 38 of the Charter to act in a way that is compatible with human rights under the Charter when delivering public services under agreements with Service Victoria, where these functions are or include functions of a public nature, or are being exercised by the non-government entity on behalf of the Victoria Government or ‘public authority’ (e.g. a government service agency). This is because a non-government agency may constitute a ‘public authority’ under section 4 of the Charter when entering an agreement with Service Victoria. Expanding Service Victoria’s customer service functions
The Bill will amend the definition of ‘customer service function’ so that it explicitly recognises Service Victoria’s ability to issue an authority or official information document and to receive or make a payment (subclauses 4(2) and (3)). While Service Victoria can already perform these functions if they are prescribed under the Service Victoria Act as ‘customer service functions’, this reform clarifies Service Victoria’s increasing role as a deliverer of end-to-end services, as well as simplifying Service Victoria’s operations by removing the need to make regulations to perform particular functions.
Although performance of these functions may have the effect of increasing the scope of information that Service Victoria has access to, this reform will not impose any new limitations on the right to privacy given Service Victoria can already perform such functions, and must continue to adhere to other privacy obligations under other laws.
For these reasons, I consider that the Bill is consistent with the right to privacy in section 13 of the Charter.
Right to take part in public life (section 18)
Section 18 of the Charter states that every person in Victoria has the right, and is to have the opportunity, without discrimination, to participate in the conduct of public affairs (directly or through freely chosen representatives), and every eligible person has the right to have access, on general terms of equality, to the Victorian public service and public office.
The right to access the Victorian public service is not defined in the Charter and there is limited Victorian judicial consideration of the full scope of the right (which is modelled on Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). It is likely that this right is intended to only apply to a person’s ability to be appointed to or employed in a public service role or public office, and does not extend to accessing public services provided by the Victorian public service. This means this right is unlikely to be engaged by the Bill.
However, if the right does extend to accessing services provided by the Victorian public service, in my view the Bill will enhance Victorians’ right to take part in public life by:
• enabling a faster, more flexible and more seamless digital delivery of services by Service Victoria by removing legislative and operational barriers, including the minimum standards (clause 28) and complex administrative requirements for matters, such as the closure or transfer of a service agency database, that are better addressed at an operational level (clause 8);
• making it easier for Service Victoria to deliver a wider range of services by enabling Service Victoria to enter into agreements with non-government entities (clause 15); and
• supporting Service Victoria’s aim of providing end-to-end service delivery by removing any legal ambiguity, including by amending the purposes of the Service Victoria Act so that it recognises Service Victoria as a ‘central point for public access to Government services’.
In my view, the reforms are reasonable and generally enhance, and do not limit, the right to take part in public life under the Charter, as they seek to support the delivery of accessible, equitable and fair services for Victorians by increasing the scope of services that Service Victoria can deliver and the way in which it can deliver them. Therefore, the Bill is consistent with the right to take part in public life in section 18 of the Charter.
Recognition and equality before the law (section 8 of the Charter)
Section 8(3) of the Charter establishes what is generally known as the right to equality, stating that every person is equal before the law and is entitled to the equal and effective protection of the law without discrimination. This right ensures that all laws and policies are applied equally, and do not have a discriminatory effect.
Discrimination, for the purposes of section 8, means discrimination within the meaning of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Equal Opportunity Act), on the basis of one of an attribute set out in section 6 of that Act, such as age, disability, employment activity, gender identity, personal association, political belief or activity, pregnancy, race, religious belief or activity, sex or sexual orientation, or status as a carer. Measures that assist or advance persons or groups of persons disadvantaged because of discrimination do not constitute discrimination.
Discrimination against a person can be direct or indirect, and consists of impermissible differential treatment that is less favourable based on one or more of the attributes listed in section 6 of the Equal Opportunity Act. Under that Act, indirect discrimination occurs where there is a requirement, condition or practice that has, or is likely to have, the effect of disadvantaging a person with a protected attribute, and the requirement, condition or practice is not reasonable. Discrimination may be justified if the criterion for differentiation is reasonable and objective, and has the aim of achieving a legitimate purpose.
However, the right is not absolute and can be subject to reasonable limitation under section 7(2) of the Charter.
It is possible that the Bill engages the right to recognition and equality before the law by enabling or increasing the delivery of digitised services to the public, for example by:
• broadening the scope of functions that Service Victoria can perform by expanding the definition of ‘customer service function’ (clause 4), and consequently the scope of functions that might be performed digitally;
• making it easier for service agencies to engage with Service Victoria and for the Service Victoria CEO to perform functions on their behalf, by removing administrative and information management requirements that are better dealt with at an operational level (clauses 8 and 28);
• allowing Service Victoria to enter into agreements for non-government entities to perform all or part of a function on behalf of Service Victoria or a service agency (clause 15); and
• providing for a fully digitised, more streamlined and more accessible means of identity verification which is better aligned with modern technology by removing provisions creating complex and prescriptive legislative requirements regarding electronic identity credentials and placing these into a delegated instrument, the Identity Verification Standards (clauses 19 and 20).
These reforms could indirectly discriminate against people if they cannot access or use, or have difficulty accessing or using, digital technology due to a protected attribute, as this may result in people having difficulty accessing some public services. These potential barriers will be addressed by Service Victoria and service agencies administratively, such as providing alternative, non-digital means of accessing those services and additional guidance and support for vulnerable Victorians seeking to engage with government. Nothing in the Bill requires or has the necessary effect of any government service becoming exclusively available digitally.
On the other hand, these reforms will enhance the right to recognition and equality before the law by making it easier for people with reduced mobility to access a broad range of government services online.
In my view the reforms are reasonable and do not constitute direct or indirect discrimination under section 9 of the Equal Opportunity Act, and therefore do not breach the right to equality under the Charter. They have a legitimate purpose of making government services more efficient, accessible and convenient by supporting the digital transformation of services across the public sector. In my view, this does not have the effect of preventing Victorians from accessing government services but rather supports the delivery of equitable and fair services to all Victorians (including disadvantaged or vulnerable Victorians) by increasing the efficiency and general accessibility of government services.
Therefore, the Bill is consistent with the right to recognition and equality before the law under section 8 of the Charter.
Other human rights considerations
Non-government entities may be required to comply with the Charter when delivering public services under agreements with Service Victoria by constituting a ‘public authority’ under the Charter, so will need to ensure where this is the case, that Charter rights are not unlawfully limited or interfered with in delivering public services with Service Victoria or State entities.
Finally, the Bill’s reforms may also provide opportunities for the promotion by Service Victoria and government of the Charter’s freedoms and rights through improved digital public service delivery.
Gabrielle Williams MP
Minister for Government Services
Second reading
That this bill be now read a second time.
I ask that my second-reading speech be incorporated into Hansard.
Incorporated speech as follows:
I am pleased to introduce a Bill which will support the government’s continued focus on delivering high-quality public services.
The government established Service Victoria to deliver modern government services designed around people’s needs, and to make it easy for customers to transact with government online at a time and place convenient to them. Now, the government has strengthened its focus on the delivery of government services by creating the new Department of Government Services early this year.
Customers have completed more than a billion transactions through Service Victoria. This includes QR code check-ins during the COVID-19 pandemic, car registration payments, ambulance subscriptions, vouchers and cashbacks to help reduce the cost of living.
Customer satisfaction with Service Victoria is consistently high with a customer satisfaction score of more than 95 per cent. The most common word used by customers in their feedback is ‘easy’.
The Service Victoria app includes a digital wallet where Victorians can securely store and show a digital Working with Children Check Card, Veterans Card – Victoria, Seniors Card, and more. The Service Victoria app has been installed on more than 7 million devices. The government continues to make more digital services available through Service Victoria, such as a Digital Driver Licence.
As we work to deliver more and more innovative services, we need to keep applicable legislation up-to-date, ready to support the delivery of services that Victorians want.
Background of the Bill
Legislation can create unique challenges with establishing one place for customers to go for government services. For example, legislation can:
• Allocate functions and powers to specific agencies or officeholders and limits the scope for another agency to support delivery of those functions.
• Set out application requirements for customers to fulfil that use older hard copy approaches, for example to provide identity documents, that do not contemplate newer approaches such as a re-useable digital identity.
• Impose secrecy and confidentiality requirements for some functions that result in information needing to be held in silos, limiting opportunities for customers to access their information held with government through a central website portal and mobile app.
The Service Victoria Act 2018 (the Act) aims to streamline customer services through Service Victoria, so customers have one place to go and do not need to present the same information to multiple agencies. For example, instead of proving identity repeatedly, customers can choose to have a re-usable electronic identity credential through Service Victoria.
In June 2022, an Independent Review of the Act by Dr Claire Noone was tabled in Parliament. The Independent Review engaged with over 40 stakeholders, analysed over 100 documents, and included detailed research including domestic and international case studies.
This Bill implements the legislative recommendations of the Independent Review. The Bill will amend the Act to deliver better services built around customer needs, and to bring more services online faster. The Bill will remove legislative obstacles and introduce necessary enablers.
The amendments will better enable the implementation of the Victorian Government Digital Strategy 2021–2026 and support the digital strategy’s vision of ‘better, fairer, more accessible services’, with a focus on using technology to deliver improved government services designed around customer needs.
These reforms build on amendments made to the Act in 2022 that addressed technical issues identified during the COVID-19 response. Further changes will ensure the Act keeps pace with evolving technology and increasingly high customer expectations of government service delivery. This Bill uses a future-proofing approach, incorporating flexibility into the Act to ensure more services can be delivered and to enhance existing services where required.
I now turn to the reforms in the Bill.
Summary of the Bill’s reforms
The Bill introduces a range of reforms to the Service Victoria Act to implement the legislative recommendations in the Independent Review.
End-to-end service delivery
The Bill introduces amendments to better enable Service Victoria to deliver more end-to-end services, without unnecessary handover points to other agencies. This reform will provide clarity that Service Victoria can ‘issue’ documents, approvals and grants for customers.
For customers, that means being able to go to Service Victoria to receive more documents and approvals for more services without being passed around different parts of government. It will support Victoria having one place to go for government services.
This change will also support reduced costs of running government services by avoiding extensive additional work to link up multiple separate information technology systems across agencies to deliver a service.
Flexibly responding to new priorities
The Bill ensures Service Victoria can flexibly respond to new priorities and launch new services quickly by taking a less prescriptive and more principles-based approach to Service Victoria’s functions.
For example, Service Victoria will be able to quickly launch a new service when new government support programs are established, such as in response to an emergency, so people who need government support can register to get the help they need. Under the current Act, this requires legal instruments which would not be required in other government agencies, and delays the delivery of services to customers.
More innovative approaches will also support the bundling of services. For example, delivering a suite of outdoor recreation permits including a fishing licence, boat and trailer registration, and a marine licence renewal bundled into a single application. Service Victoria can play a greater role in supporting customers by streamlining these services to reflect common customer journeys.
Reducing back-office administration
The Bill removes unnecessary back-office administration. For example, it reduces the need to make regulations to deliver new services and reduces the need to obtain Ministerial approvals for operational matters, such as establishing the underlying technology for a new database to create an improved experience for people applying for a copy of their marriage certificate.
This is about removing unnecessary red tape and making it faster for Service Victoria to deliver more services. This supports timely, efficient and cost-effective service delivery.
External delivery partnerships
The Bill enables external delivery partnerships outside government. Working with businesses offers opportunities for customer benefits. For example, allowing customers to re-use their verified record of identity through Service Victoria with organisations, including businesses, so customers do not need to keep providing identity documents again. This also helps to protect sensitive data from being stored in multiple places by third parties.
The Bill will enable Service Victoria to collect charges from businesses benefiting from these services. Any charges would be set in line with government cost recovery guidelines. Further, any engagement with organisations outside government will be designed to protect customer information, including using enforceable provisions under contracts.
Flexible options for identity verification
The Bill will enable more flexible options for identity verification.
The Victorian Government has agreed, with other states and territories, to all align to a common standard for digital identification and verifiable credentials. The Bill will provide Service Victoria with the flexibility to align to national and international standards as they evolve in the future. The Bill will also support possible future participation in the Australian Government Digital Identity System by elevating the Service Victoria Act to be more principles-based and removing inconsistent provisions.
Currently, the Act includes complex provisions about applications, processing, review and issuing of temporary and ongoing electronic identity credentials. The Bill will support these requirements to instead be set out through the Identity Verification Standards made under the Act.
This change also supports more alternative processes for people who are unable to verify their identity online and enables existing services to be moved to Service Victoria more quickly. It supports more customer-friendly processes, for example by repealing requirements to send formal letters with titles such as ‘interim refusal notice’ if more identity information needs to be checked.
The Bill repeals an unused identity verification review pathway to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). This pathway allows a customer to seek review of decisions about verifying their identity. Since this provision was introduced in 2018, Service Victoria has verified over 1.5 million customer identities, and no customer has sought VCAT review. The Bill will not affect other rights to seek review, such as an internal review by a complaint, a complaint to integrity bodies, or judicial review.
Harmonising information management requirements
The Bill supports flexibility and service evolution by harmonising information management requirements across government.
To ensure alignment with the information and privacy requirements that apply to government entities across Victoria, the Bill removes information management requirements that are unique to Service Victoria from the Service Victoria Act. The Bill ensures information will continue to be protected under the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 and the Health Records Act 2001. Information will be held using a minimalistic approach in accordance with Service Victoria’s Retention and Disposal Authority under the Public Records Act 1973.
The Bill will continue to ensure there are standards in place through flexible, delegated instruments under the Act, including the Customer Service Standards and Identity Verification Standards.
The Bill will also clarify the limited and reasonable circumstances where Service Victoria is authorised to disclose information. These include:
• To the person the information relates to, for example as part of a pre-filled form, or as part of an interaction with a frontline customer support officer.
• To the partner agency responsible for the service, or to a person who the partner agency is legally authorised to share the information with. This covers a scenario where a partner agency delivering an existing service shares information under their legislation, for example to employers verifying a Working with Children Check, and Service Victoria is engaged in the delivery of this service.
• Where the relevant customer has provided consent.
• To another prescribed person for purposes prescribed in regulations, subject to consultation with the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner.
Having consistent alignment with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 and Health Records Act 2001 across Victorian agencies ensures services can be moved quickly into Service Victoria where the service has already been designed to meet the whole-of-government privacy requirements. This ensures government can keep modernising services to deliver improved customer experience.
Conclusion
This Bill will implement the legislative recommendations of an Independent Review and in doing so:
• Support faster, more efficient delivery of online government services through Service Victoria;
• Access to more innovative end-to-end services for licences and approvals through Service Victoria;
• Provide for improved experience for individuals and businesses interacting with government by more consistent use of recent digital capabilities; and
• Reduce regulatory obstacles to make it easy to consider benefits from technological change.
I commend the Bill to the House.
James NEWBURY (Brighton) (10:46): I move:
That the debate be adjourned.
Motion agreed to and debate adjourned.
Ordered that debate be adjourned for two weeks. Debate adjourned until Wednesday 13 December.