Page 2652 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 13 August 1991
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question time today, when I think we got four or five questions up over the 30-odd minutes. The Associations Incorporation Bill is there. That is a very important piece of legislation.
I hope that the Government will bring forward as quickly as possible a great range of Bills which were drafted, approved by the Alliance Government in many cases, or for which the drafting instructions were already given. I say to the Attorney that the Wills (Amendment) Bill could be brought in tomorrow, with great applause from the legal profession and the community, because it makes necessary amendments to the Act.
Over and above those comments, all I am acknowledging is that the titles of the Bills to be moved are there. We do not know the substance and we do not know what the Labor Government will have done to the Bills as already drafted or instructed. I cannot think of many Bills there, ironically, that a Labor Government would disagree with. But I note that, without consultation with the Assembly members, to my knowledge, the Labor Government has dropped a superannuation Bill from the program. That is interesting. It is a matter that surely required consultation with members. I am not stating a position on that Bill at this stage.
I note that a Fair Trading (Petrol Prices) Bill is there. I suggest to the minority Labor Government that it move very carefully, in line with comments made by the Prices Surveillance Authority and the Trade Practices Commission over many years about the dangers of price control arrangements in industries where the fundamental dynamics are often outside the economic influence of the legislature and, in this case, outside the influence of this country. We need to be extremely careful about passing a Bill which cannot reach beyond the ACT borders and certainly cannot get behind any refinery gates, because they are all located outside the ACT. Mr Connolly should bring in very quickly the Confiscation of Proceeds of Crimes Bill. That is an effective copy from the Commonwealth in many respects.
Much of this should be done now, and not teased out over a period of weeks to give the suggestion that they are Labor initiatives. Nevertheless, I believe that the Government will give credit where it is due. There are Bills which are very urgent. The Remand Centres (Amendment) Bill, which seems to have slipped, should be brought in immediately. I say that to the Attorney, through you, Mr Speaker, because that will avoid tragedies similar to ones which have happened in the Territory whereby sentenced prisoners have not been able to be held at the Remand Centre due to legal problems. In the case of the tragedy of Kirran Sen, which members know only too much about, a person who had a form of illness was taken to Goulburn Gaol and perished in that gaol.
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