Page 3712 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 15 October 1991
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MR HUMPHRIES (9.03): Mr Speaker, this is, as other speakers have said, a very significant package of legislation to come before the Assembly. I might say that the Government is lucky that these Bills are being debated this evening. The Bills were introduced originally, as members will recall, on the 12th of last month and put on for debate by the Assembly on the 17th of the same month, which was, of course, five days later - the very next sitting day after the Bills were introduced. Even on that occasion the Government resisted the concept of adjourning these Bills for debate at a later stage. Members will recall that the vote was 10 to 6, with the Government voting against the adjournment motion.
I have to say that I, for one, am extremely glad that that adjournment did occur, because since that time I have read a number of submissions from members of the community who obviously had quite significant concerns with aspects of this package - concerns which simply could not have been addressed if we had fully dealt with the legislation on the day the Government originally proposed.
Mr Connolly: Just the in-principle stage.
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Connolly interjects that they were proposing to go only to the beginning of the detail stage. Well, originally, there was no such suggestion from the Government; they were simply talking about bringing the thing on for debate. They later clarified this and said that they were going to have some adjournment after the in-principle stage for the community's comments to be made.
The Attorney-General points out in his in-principle speech that the legislation has been patiently awaited by the local community for a number of years. He seemed to be interested in compensating for the laches in getting this legislation forward by greatly accelerating its passage through the Assembly. I do not believe that any legislation of the significance of this package of four quite complex, quite important Bills should be debated even to the in-principle stage five days after it first appears on the floor of this Assembly, particularly when there has not been any opportunity for an exposure draft of the Bill to be on view to the whole community. I believe that we should not allow incidents of that kind to recur.
However, the point of my commenting tonight is not to criticise the Government for attempting originally to bring this matter on too soon, but rather to say that the fact that the legislation is here is of great significance and, I believe, ought to be wholeheartedly supported by all of the members of the Assembly. I have heard a great many concerns about aspects of the legislation - concerns which Mr Stefaniak has already made reference to - and I think most of those concerns either are being picked up by the Government or will be picked up in Opposition amendments. I am sure that, as a result of those things, the legislation will be greatly improved.
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