Page 1713 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 30 April 1991
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It is a technical rule which confers an immunity on landlords in respect of normal occupier's liability, even where the landlord is otherwise responsible in law for the state of the premises. For example, tenants could be responsible for the personal injury to people, whether a dinner guest, a shopper in a store, or even a burglar who came onto their leased premises. If the defect in the premises that causes the injury is the landlord's responsibility - perhaps faulty wiring - the tenant could be held to be, in fact, responsible.
Mr Speaker, this is an ambiguity in the law. The Government issued a reference to the ACT Community Law Reform Committee on 21 September 1990 to review the laws in force in the Territory with respect to the status of the rule in Cavalier v. Pope and whether the general principles of negligence apply in determining occupier's liability cases.
An issues paper prepared by the law reform unit of the Department of Justice and Community Service was issued and, in fact, was widely circulated. In its report on this issue, the committee recommends that legislation be enacted to remove any doubts in regard to landlord immunity within the ACT. Further, it recommends that the courts of the ACT should apply the common law principles of negligence in determining occupier's liability cases. The Bill effectively abolishes the immunity that a landlord may have had as a result of the rule in Cavalier v. Pope.
Courts in the ACT will now know with certainty that all occupier's liability cases will be determined by applying the ordinary common law principles of negligence. Landlords, tenants and real estate management services will know their respective obligations. I think that is a very important point, Mr Speaker; in fact, all parties will be clearly able to understand just what those obligations are. The law will be simple, clear and consistent.
The Alliance Government is pleased to accept the recommendations of the ACT Community Law Reform Committee's report on occupier's liability and, in fact, the Bill demonstrates the Alliance Government's commitment to effective and sensible community law reform in the ACT. I commend the Bill.
MR COLLAERY (Attorney-General) (9.38), in reply: Mr Speaker, my task, in view of those very interesting and comprehensive comments from other members of the house, is only to thank the committee on the record for the work that its members have done. It is a broadly based committee and the names of the committee members appear on the inside cover of the reports. I also wish to draw to members' attention the fact that the committee is serviced by a relatively small secretariat and the names of those people are also recorded there. On behalf of the Government, and I
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