Page 709 - Week 03 - Thursday, 22 March 1990
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the path to follow. The public advocate is a most important aspect of the administration of guardianship procedures. It is vital for the protection and rights of patients that the advocate be an independent agency. This matter of guardianship is a most sensitive area - the declaration that people are not competent to manage their affairs and arranging for others to do so - so it must be handled most carefully.
The report indicates the difficulties that may be encountered. The public advocate is necessary to protect, for example, a person who is merely eccentric. The advocate is important to provide the balance between protecting rights of people and managing the affairs of those people. The advocate should also play a role in promoting debate on issues relevant to guardianship and rights of people who are suffering incapacity. For those who will now decide how these proposals will be implemented, I urge most strongly that the recommendations be not diminished in their strength by seeking cost-saving options. These are excellent and much needed proposals. They are not expensive in their implementation. They should be adopted quickly and in full.
MR COLLAERY (Attorney-General) (11.30), in reply: There being no other speakers, I thank members for their comments. I believe that in closing this debate I should comment on those remarks rather than rephrase earlier comments or cover the quite comprehensive statements of fact given by the speakers before me.
I tabled this important Australian Law Reform Commission report on 15 February 1990. Two days prior to that, or thereabouts, I gave instructions to my Law Office to pursue a consultative process that Mr Wood has asked us to undertake. I can inform the Assembly that part of that process has begun already, and I will detail that. But, firstly, we all agree, I take it, that reform in this area of law in the ACT is long overdue. Our residents have every reason to ask why it took until 1989 for the Commonwealth Government, the Labor Government, the so-called protector of the people, the social government, the government of conscience, to look into the Lunacy Act of 1898 and realise that it was outdated, inapplicable and causing real distress. I think there is a quite proper rebuke to the Labor Government of this Territory for its failings over recent years in that regard.
Since I tabled this report my advisers in the Law Office have been consulting various professional bodies to seek their input into an analysis of the report's recommendations. My officers have referred the report to the Law Society of the ACT which has replied, indicating that the society will submit its views when its council has considered a report on this matter from its relevant committees. Of course, it says "relevant committees" because, as members will appreciate, these issues touch on conveyancing, probate, trust, equity and other issues.
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