Page 6184 - Week 19 - Tuesday, 17 December 1991
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Domestic Violence Orders
MR COLLAERY: Mr Speaker, my question is of the Chief Minister. In view of the Chief Minister's genuine and announced concern for the victims of domestic violence and in view of the fact that in November last year the Federal Government said that it would make necessary amendments to the Service and Execution of Process Act to permit portability of restraining orders, which is particularly important in this holiday season, I ask the Chief Minister why a portability Bill has not been introduced by her Government since mid-year and whether, if I handed her a Bill in the next 20 minutes, she would introduce it - in the interests of this most serious and important topic? I accept that the Commonwealth has let us down. It has not made those amendments to sections 9 and 11 of the Service and Execution of Process Act. Perhaps the Attorney can bring us up to date on that. Bearing in mind that the Commonwealth has failed to do it for the nation and bearing in mind that that has been predictable for a while, given its own priorities at the moment, I ask the Chief Minister whether she would be gracious enough to accept a Bill that has been prepared to at least attend to those protections which we can attend to for the forthcoming holiday season.
MS FOLLETT: I thank Mr Collaery for the question. Mr Speaker, as I am sure Mr Collaery knows, at the time when he had responsibility for these matters they were handed over to the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, and in fact it is the case that not much happened as a result of that. I raised this matter myself in the course of the Special Premiers Conference meetings - there have been two meetings, in fact - and at the last meeting, the October meeting, had agreement from all States that this should be done immediately. Premiers went away with a direction to their Ministers, whether police Ministers or Attorneys-General, to ensure that this was done. So, it is clearly the intention of Premiers and Chief Ministers in all States that this must be done.
Of course, it is of particular relevance to us in the ACT, surrounded as we are by another State, and because of our special relationship with, say, Queanbeyan or the south coast. It is particularly important that ACT restraining orders have application outside the ACT and equally important that New South Wales orders are fully recognised within the ACT borders. I can certainly assure members that that commitment is given, and in the communique all Premiers and Chief Ministers have undertaken to do that as a matter of urgency.
Mr Collaery has asked whether I would accept a Bill from him. The answer is no; I will not. We have seen time and time again in the final days of the current Assembly Mr Collaery's Bills put forward very rapidly. Of course, Mr Speaker, I do not doubt Mr Collaery's good intentions. I do not doubt that he has the best interests of these particular client groups at heart. Nevertheless, we have
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