Select Cmte missing an important step?

Average Thief blogs:

I was one of the thousands of people who made a submission relating to the Abortion Legislation Bill.  Like many people, I oppose abortion on demand, and my submission gave reasons.
Sometime later, the Parliamentary Select Committee considering this bill emailed submitters.  The email included:
The committee has agreed to hear from as many submitters as possible, focusing on submissions that will most help it consider what, if any, changes should be recommended to the bill.
Select Committees consider –
whether to recommend that a bill should proceed; and
if they recommend that it should proceed, what (if any) amendments to recommend.
This committee seems to have skipped step #1.  And public hearings are yet to occur.
I emailed the committee secretariat describing the usual practice and asking, “How on earth has the committee decided in advance that the Bill will proceed?”
The response:
Detail of the committee’s consideration is confidential to the committee.
In other words, “We’ve made up our minds before public hearings and we’re not prepared to discuss it”.

It does seem unusual to only be asking for improvements to the bill, and not to be asking for submissions on whether or not the bill proceed.