Page 6072 - Week 18 - Thursday, 12 December 1991
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MR COLLAERY: As long as I am not closing the debate by speaking, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: No, you cannot.
Mr Stefaniak: It is their Bill.
MR COLLAERY: Okay. Mr Speaker, I foreshadow amendments to the Bill moved by Mr Connolly. Those amendments are effectively intended to take up the Crimes (Amendment) Bill (No. 3), which has been moved previously in the house. The amendments being circulated are, in effect, piggyback provisions that take over the Crimes (Amendment) Bill (No. 3). Members might wish to study those matters while debate continues.
MR STEFANIAK (5.33): Mr Collaery's amendments, which can be moved to any Crimes (Amendment) Bill, are in fact moved to this Bill. I will speak about his amendments later. I note, in relation to his foreshadowed amendments, that he has taken into account problems which the Government Law Office and the DPP have raised. He is also covering one situation which certainly I have no problems with. I have had personal experience of the problem he refers to. I will speak more about that when that occurs.
This Bill basically ensures that the granting of pardons and the remission of penalties be taken over by the Territory rather than what is the current state of play. The Executive will now do it. Given that we have now had about 2 years of self-government, I think that in the circumstances that is entirely appropriate. The pardon and remission system here has worked fairly well. We do have a Parole Board which has quite eminent people sitting on it. It advises the authorities, or it has in the past, and that advice invariably has been acted upon. I think it is appropriate that the authority that is advised, in fact, be changed to the Executive. I certainly hope that the Executive will act with commonsense in relation to the advice of its Parole Board.
We do not have terribly many people being gaoled in the Territory - something which has concerned me from time to time and has made us a bit of a joke in other States perhaps. There are occasions when the question of parole and remissions comes up and it is quite appropriate now that the Executive take over that function. That is an evolving part of self-government. It has the support of the Liberal Party.
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (5.35), in reply: I thank members for their support on the substance of the Government's Bill. I can certainly assure Mr Stefaniak that the advice of the Parole Board, in particular, will always be taken into account by the Executive. We are as aware as I am sure Mr Stefaniak is
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