Page 69 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 16 February 1993
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I share the desire expressed by the Attorney to ventilate these changes and to encourage people who might feel cheated or frustrated by the system in the past to come forward with their cases. However, I am also afraid that, if a case comes before the courts and it is subsequently shown that an innocent man is convicted and perhaps sent to gaol by virtue of evidence obtained from a child which is wrong, this will undermine the process of reform the Minister is now trying to put in place. We have seen plenty of cases of that kind of unfortunate outcome in courts being well ventilated in our newspapers and media. That would not be conducive to people having faith in the system.
To sum up, Madam Speaker, I think it is unsafe to proceed as far as has been suggested by the Government. I think it is safer for us to assume that a child of the tender age of five or six might present difficulties to a court in giving completely reliable evidence. I do not think it is too much to say that a child's evidence in those circumstances ought to be corroborated by some other factor. In those circumstances, I believe that we protect the child, but I also believe that we protect the accused, which is as much our duty as the other question when we face changes to the law of this kind.
MR STEVENSON (9.28): Mr Connolly suggests that anybody who disagrees with him is totally wrong and is barely worth listening to.
Mr Wood: That makes good sense.
MR STEVENSON: Mr Wood said, "That makes good sense". Yet Mr Connolly and Mr Wood, with the rest of the Labor members, in this Assembly last year banned horseracing in the ACT. They refused to accept the logical explanations, put not only by members of the Assembly but also by the horseracing industry, that where in sections 7 and 8 of the Animal Welfare Act - - -
Mr Connolly: On a point of order, Madam Speaker: Reluctantly, one has to raise two standing orders - one about relevance and one about reflecting on a previous vote of the Assembly. We would be interested in hearing the member address this Bill.
MADAM SPEAKER: I ask you to focus your remarks on this particular amendment, Mr Stevenson.
MR STEVENSON: I think it reasonable, Madam Speaker, to draw a parallel under these circumstances. I will be brief on that point. Under that Act, where there is cruelty and pain, in effect, horseracing in the ACT is illegal.
Debate interrupted.
ADJOURNMENT
MADAM SPEAKER: It being 9.30 pm, I propose the question:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
Mr Berry: I require that the question be put forthwith without debate.
Question resolved in the negative.
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