Page 1441 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 17 April 1991
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will depend on who is on the government benches at the time. It will depend on what conventions and traditions we build up in dealing with this new law which will set a very significant new parliamentary standard in Australia.
Although subordinate legislation is, by and large, restricted to technical or procedural matters, it closely affects every one of us. As Mr Connolly has pointed out, subordinate or delegated legislation has a long history but it has been in only fairly recent times that its full importance has been recognised. As a result, certain forms of subordinate legislation must be subjected to scrutiny and possible disallowance by this Assembly.
Examples of the sorts of subordinate laws which closely affect us and would be subject to disallowance provisions include: Determinations made under the Motor Traffic Act 1936 which set the fees which we must pay to register our motor vehicles; regulations under the Consumer Affairs Act 1988 which prescribe consumer product safety standards; and the manual which sets out the instruments to be used and procedures to be followed, for example, in measuring noise for the purposes of the Noise Control Act 1988.
Mr Speaker, the boom of government activity in a range of areas in the last couple of decades has seen an extended role for subordinate or delegated legislation as it has not been possible for the parliament to consider, in principal legislation, every matter that is now spelt out on the statute books. In the light of this, the Government is prepared to allow the amendment which will provide a greater incentive for Assembly scrutiny of these issues. We are ever mindful, firstly, of the support we receive from the Bills committee process in this house, and we are ever mindful of the enjoiner I put upon us all that we not use this for capricious purposes.
Our Government is committed to ensuring that the Assembly in the ACT is an open and consultative forum which serves the principles of democracy. As a consequence, we are supporting this Bill along the lines that I have outlined. I formally state that the Government's agreement is conditional upon a proviso that members of this Assembly not seek to abuse the disallowance process by using it for alternative purposes and by unreasonably and unnecessarily giving notices of motion to disallow in respect of subordinate laws which themselves are not the subject of the debate. Members were reminded that, in objecting to a notice of determination this morning, Mr Berry did not, in any way, refer to any objections he had to the substance - - -
Ms Follett: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I refer you to standing order 59. I believe that Mr Collaery is anticipating a matter that is on the notice paper.
MR SPEAKER: I uphold your objection. Mr Collaery, please watch that one.
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