Page 2126 - Week 10 - Thursday, 26 October 1989
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MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister) (12.04): Mr Speaker, this is one of the matters that I spoke on yesterday when I put forward the Government's view on some of the more general recommendations contained in the committee's report on occupational health and safety. The reasons the Deputy Chief Minister outlined concerning the time frame for reporting by the council, really, are quite valid.
Members might report within six months of the end of a financial year, or by the end of a calendar year, whichever applies. That is generally required under the legislation which establishes those bodies or by section 30A of the Interpretation Act. So, six months is the general rule. For this annual report we are requiring a very much shorter time frame than is the general rule. I do not really believe that this is warranted in this particular case, particularly if members bear in mind that, as you say, the work of the body is ongoing.
At the end of the financial year there is a requirement that they have audited accounts prepared, and that can take some little time. As a person who has worked on statutory bodies of a variety of descriptions, I can tell you that getting audited accounts and getting a report put together and printed are not things that can be done quickly. I really think three months places quite an undue imposition upon the council and it is an imposition that is not imposed upon any other statutory body that I know of. So I would ask members to think carefully about it.
I fully accept all of the points made about timely reporting and about the necessity for the Minister to present that report in a timely fashion, but I think commonsense dictates that three months, being a very much shorter period than the general rule, is something of an imposition upon this body. In fact, Mr Speaker, very often the question of getting your printing done within that time frame could impose a degree of difficulty upon the task that would not exist if they had the six-month period.
So, Mr Speaker, I take the members' point about timely reporting, but I would ask that they do not impose upon this body the kind of time frame that does not exist for other similar bodies.
MR WHALAN (Minister for Industry, Employment and Education) (12.07): I would like to make a general comment which is relevant to this particular clause. One of the issues which has emerged in the form of discussion between the parties in the chamber during consideration of this legislation has been the question of the regulation making power under this legislation. In discussions with Mr Collaery he raised the fact that he had some reservations and concerns about the regulation making power. We will be discussing those later in the day when we come to clause 97.
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