Page 3540 - Week 12 - Thursday, 20 September 1990
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will result in Australia becoming a centre for important arbitration issues, certainly within our hemisphere. I will be parochial and say that I would like that centre to be in the Australian Capital Territory and in Canberra. I have been very interested recently to listen to initial proposals that we develop arbitration facilities in our national capital and make facilities available, given the very strong business law ties with the Law Council of Australia in the ACT and particularly the notable and national efforts of a Canberra practitioner, Mr Russell Miller, in this area.
Mr Speaker, I believe that this reform will be part of far larger developments that will come about in the next 10 years, that may well affect the ACT, that may well bring another industry to the ACT, and that may certainly result in greater scope and breadth for commercial operators who have disputes which they wish to keep out of the dry legal arena.
The other issue that is of continuing interest is the increasing support the New Zealand processes are having. It may well be that the closer economic relationship with New Zealand may see signal agreements and arbitration arrangements, at least across the Tasman and hopefully located in the ACT.
Mr Speaker, the Commonwealth has already made the Supreme Court (Arbitration) Ordinance 1990, referred to in clause 2 of the Bill. That ordinance will enable rules of court to be made to provide for a reference by the court of a matter arising in civil proceedings to a referee or arbitrator.
It is necessary for the Commonwealth to make such an ordinance because the ACT Legislative Assembly does not, as yet, have legislative responsibility for the ACT Supreme Court, and this is another reason why the Government needs to determine at an early date what the timetable for any taking over of ACT Supreme Court functions should be.
Those rules are now being formulated and they will provide for matters including the following: the proceedings that may be referred by the Supreme Court to an arbitrator or referee; the appointment of a person as an arbitrator or referee; the fees to be paid to the arbitrator or referee; the consequences of a determination or report by the arbitrator or referee; and other matters associated with such a reference.
Mr Speaker, members will note that in clause 2 of this Bill it is specified that the operative sections will commence when those rules of court are made. This qualification will certainly allow that process to continue. I commend the Bill to the house.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
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