Page 38 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 16 February 1993
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Members will recall that on 8 December 1992 this Assembly debated whether the Adoption Bill 1992 should or should not be referred to the Assembly's Social Policy Committee for more detailed examination and report. Following considerable debate the Assembly decided to refer the Bill to the Social Policy Committee. The clear expectation of everyone was that the committee would indeed report by 23 February this year. Unfortunately, personal tragedy in the life of Ms Ellis has intervened. It is for this reason that she has been absent from the ACT for some weeks, and she is absent from this chamber today. I am sure that we all empathise with Ms Ellis in her tragic loss and would wish to express our condolences to Ms Ellis and members of her family.
Madam Speaker, Mrs Carnell, Mr Cornwell and I have been faced with a difficult situation with regard to consideration of the Adoption Bill. In effect, we were faced with two options. The first option would have enabled the available aforementioned members of the Social Policy Committee to continue consideration of the Bill, to consider in detail the submissions we have received, to hold a public hearing and to finalise our comments and the committee's report by the due date. In fact, tentative arrangements were made in case the Social Policy Committee preferred this course of action. However, our task would have been accomplished without input from the committee chair, Ms Ellis, and with limited input from Mrs Grassby, who returned from leave yesterday.
Following discussion with the Labor Whip, Mr Lamont, representing Ms Ellis and Mrs Grassby, the second course of action was decided upon. This option involves the moving of this motion today requesting the Assembly to alter the committee's reporting date from 23 February to 16 March. The deferral will enable Ms Ellis and Mrs Grassby to fully participate in the Social Policy Committee's discussions and deliberations on the Adoption Bill. In normal circumstances the deferral of the committee's reporting date would perhaps not have been as difficult a decision as it was to make. However, the committee took serious account of the effect of a delay on the many groups and individuals intensely interested in the issues surrounding adoption. These people expressed extreme disappointment in 1992 that the legislation was not passed according to the expected and anticipated government timetable.
Madam Speaker, in the light of the above the committee has requested our secretary, Mr Greg McIntosh, to personally contact all groups and individuals expressly interested in the outcome of this legislation to inform them of the likely delay in the passage of the Bill and to outline the process of deliberation from this point. I have also placed the committee's views on this regrettable delay on the record to demonstrate to the Assembly how seriously we have considered our position and the motion to defer the committee's reporting date to 16 March. Madam Speaker, I commend the motion to the Assembly.
MR LAMONT (4.36): Madam Speaker, this side of the house support this motion for some of the reasons outlined by Ms Szuty. It is unfortunate that a bereavement has taken place. I will pass on to Ms Ellis the sentiments expressed by Ms Szuty. Ms Ellis has been out of Canberra for the last week and will return at the end of this week. However, this matter could have been dealt with and should have been properly dealt with last year.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .