Page 4750 - Week 16 - Wednesday, 28 November 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
say, we should be jealous to guard against, and I am somewhat disappointed that the Attorney has indicated in this letter to Ms Maher that he thinks that it is unnecessary to refine the transitional provisions because of the practical unlikelihood of any prejudicial effect.
It is not really satisfactory, Mr Speaker, for this Assembly to be told that a retrospective operation of a law that can affect the rights of individuals is okay because in practice the Government does not think anyone will be caught. It really is important that we do this properly. Mr Stefaniak is aware of this problem. I will not speak for Mr Stefaniak, but I certainly do not think that it is beyond the wit of a drafter to come up with a fairly quick provision to tidy this up. The Attorney has indicated already that there will be some amendments to this Bill to fix up the first problem, and I would urge that he consider fixing up this retrospectivity issue in respect of the offence.
He is probably right in saying that in practice this will not catch anybody, but it is a dangerous precedent to set. I would urge the Attorney and his officers to have a look at this problem and perhaps reconsider the advice to Ms Maher and fix it up. Mr Speaker, with those qualifications, the Opposition generally supports the Bill.
MR STEFANIAK (3.45): I commend the Attorney-General for bringing in this Bill. I am pleased to hear the generally positive comments made by the legal spokesman for the Labor Party, Mr Connolly, in relation to this Bill. Firstly, Mr Speaker, this Bill does bring in much needed reform to the liquor set-up in the ACT. There have been a number of problems with this area in the past and no doubt there will be in the future. Some of the problems we see around Canberra are caused by excessive use of alcohol, and people realise that, I think, on all sides of the house here. So, it is pleasing to see the reforms introduced in this Liquor Amendment Bill. There are a number of other areas that I know the Government is looking at and I would think that in the life of this Government there will probably be further amendments.
Like Mr Connolly, and I think like probably most members of this house, I am very pleased to see some of the provisions give a greater range of penalties and greater options for authorities, for GALA and the authority that replaces it. There is to be a greater range of options for superior authorities, such as the Supreme Court, that hear appeals in relation to penalties under this legislation. I have been involved in this area over the years, Mr Speaker, as a prosecutor prosecuting on behalf of the Gaming and Liquor Authority in relation to contravention of the Liquor Ordinance, especially in relation to under-age drinking, which is, unfortunately, a very prevalent offence in Canberra - it has been for a number of years - and also in relation to licensed establishments which, by allowing under-age drinking, contravene their licences and, of course, are brought before the courts.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .