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“He fundamentally acknowledges that we need a framework. He’s suggested some amendments. I think that there’s room to move on what he’s suggesting,” Ms Symes said outside Parliament.
But she said it was unlikely a deal would be finalised on Friday to gain the necessary support,and flagged the possibility of extra sitting days being called to ensure the bill passed before the state of emergency expires.
Mr Hayes said his impression was that greater oversight was “definitely on the table”,and he expected negotiations to continue on Friday.
“I want to see that the provisions are disallowable by either house of Parliament,that’s the main one,” he said.
“An oversight committee that recommends such things would be useful too,but it can’t be a government-controlled one.”
Rod Barton,of the Transport Matters Party,said the crossbench had been working together with the government on a united position.
“You’d be surprised that we’re not that far apart,” Mr Barton told ABC Radio’sMorningsprogram on Friday morning.
He said an independent parliamentary advisory panel – which is not chaired by the government or opposition – and an accessible reviews process of detention orders and fines,were key requirements for him to support the bill.
Reason Party MP Fiona Patten,who helped draft the government’s pandemic bill,said it was possible Parliament would return for special sittings next week.
“If some of the other sensible MPs negotiate even more amendments to make the legislation better,then I think that would be a great outcome,” Ms Patten said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday said protesters who brought gallows and nooses to the Victorian Parliament to protest the bill were “appalling”. He reiterated his view that Liberal MPs should not have attended the demonstrations where people chanted “kill Dan Andrews”.
But he made a distinction between those protesters and people with mainstream views who were sick of lockdowns and government interventions.
COVID-19 restrictions were heavily wound back for vaccinated Victorians on Friday as the state neared its target of fully vaccinating 90 per cent of people over 12. There were 1273 cases of the coronavirus on Friday after 73,000 tests,and another eight people died with the virus.
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The majority of the other eight crossbenchers yet to support the bill have indicated they are unwilling to negotiate with the government,leaving Mr Hayes and independent MP Catherine Cumming as the most likely candidates to strike a deal.
But Ms Cumming indicated she wanted the government to budge on vaccine mandates,which is unlikely to be supported by Labor.
“I have requested that the government consults with all of the crossbench and the opposition,” she said in a statement.
“I raised the concerns around oversight,detention and the powers of authorised officers.”
Speaking onSunriseon Friday morning,Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews indicated that he was determined to pass the legislation eventually.
“We have never had a majority,never had the numbers,as of right now in the upper house,” Mr Andrews said.
“We work with everybody[on the crossbench]. That is what will do here,and we’ll see what the outcome is. We will do the hard work to get an outcome.”
Shadow treasurer David Davis,the leader of the opposition in the upper house,said the bill was “deeply flawed” because the government failed to consult the whole Parliament.
“A lot of this could have been thrashed out more sensibly,” he said.