Page 1244 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 11 May 1993
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You could look all through the Bill and not find anything to do with the New South Wales Act, so you go along and get the New South Wales Act. I can understand why the New South Wales Act was used. At the start of the New South Wales Act, before Part 1, it states:
BE it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of New South Wales in Parliament assembled ...
Obviously it was because of the strong monarchical flavour that that was referred to. Then you look for a reference to prescribed classes of boxers. Where is it? We find it on page 6. It says:
For the purpose of registering boxers, classes of boxers may be prescribed according to the style of fighting practised by them.
I am not sure that that really puts a lot of light on what we are doing, so let us go back to what "boxing" means. "Boxers" is the key word. We go to the interpretation section in the New South Wales Act. It says:
"boxing" means fist fighting, kick boxing or any other style of fighting in relation to which a class of boxers is prescribed under section 6 ...
I went back to where it talks about "prescribed under section 6" and then back to the definition, and I thought, "I am not sure that it really covers it all that well, particularly when if the New South Wales Parliament changes the regulations that changes law in the ACT". I am not sure that that is a good principle. Even if we have done it before, I still do not think that makes it a good principle. I do not think we should pass any legislation that is dependent on what the members of the New South Wales Parliament do, unless the people of the ACT have agreed with it and it has to do with health, education, and law and order - although I think such matters should go back to the Commonwealth.
Mr Kaine: You have lost me, Dennis.
MR STEVENSON: Let me explain, Mr Kaine. If we have the New South Wales Parliament making laws for the ACT that we do not know about, perhaps that is not a good thing. Has anybody read the various prescriptions about fighting that are made under the New South Wales Act? Has anybody read the individual areas that are prescribed? They can be prescribed by regulation. It is very hard to get the regulations on this. I have not seen them. I do not know what they cover, but I do know that the New South Wales Parliament can change law in the ACT any time they want to make different regulations in relation to their Act, which we have tied our legislation to. I do not think that is a good idea. Mr Berry was quoted in the Canberra Times on 6 May as saying:
Section 20 of the legislation, which bans boxing contests using a foot or any other part of the leg, is aimed exclusively at kickboxing ...
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