Page 3835 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 16 October 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
This report was prepared as part of the ACT law reform program which received, as I said, the support of all members of this Assembly last year. The program has two elements - community law reform, which is the province of Mr Justice Kelly's Community Law Reform Committee from which we just received two reports, and law review. The law review program is as important a part of the overall law reform process as community input. The focus of law review is different from the community law reform agenda: The emphasis is on the review of legislation leading to greater access of the community to law and improved administration.
Legislation, obviously, has a major influence on almost every aspect of an individual's life. Many people who come into contact with the law have extreme difficulty interpreting it because of the complexities in the drafting style and the language that is involved in most statutes. There is a presumption at common law that every citizen knows the law and is covered by it. It is the old phrase - "Ignorance of the law is no excuse". But, for justice to be done, legislation needs to be in a format which is accessible to all and which can be generally understood by those citizens who are affected by it.
It was with these things in mind that a wide ranging review of all ACT legislation was undertaken by officers of the ACT Attorney-General's Department. An examination of all ACT Acts and regulations was conducted, in conjunction with a comparison of the equivalent laws in the States and the Northern Territory. A number of similarities and differences between ACT and State legislation were identified by the report. There are approximately the same number of Acts in the ACT and the States when allowances are made for the different responsibilities of the different jurisdictions. For historical reasons, however, there are many more regulations in the States than in the ACT. ACT Acts are generally much less wordy than State equivalents.
A number of basic shortcomings and deficiencies in ACT legislation have, however, been identified. ACT laws are fragmented; they have been heavily amended or they have provisions that have not yet commenced, despite being on the statute book for many years. For example, the Motor Traffic Act 1936 has been amended more than 120 times. The report identifies the most fragmented laws for early review under the proposed review program.
ACT laws also lag behind reforms adopted in New South Wales or Victoria. For example, the ACT does not have legislation dealing with de facto relationships or replacing obsolete common law offences. The report recommends a process for systematically identifying reforms which have been adopted in other States for possible incorporation in ACT legislation.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .