Page 1579 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 17 May 1994
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SCRUTINY OF BILLS AND SUBORDINATE LEGISLATION -
STANDING COMMITTEE
Reports and Statement
MRS GRASSBY (4.48): I present reports Nos 6 and 7 of 1994 of the Standing Committee on Scrutiny of Bills and Subordinate Legislation, and I ask for leave to make a brief statement.
Leave granted.
MRS GRASSBY: Report No. 6 of 1994, which I have just presented, was circulated when the Assembly was not sitting, on 28 April 1994, pursuant to the resolution of appointment on 28 March 1992. Report No. 7 of 1994 contains the committee's comments on three Bills, 10 pieces of subordinate legislation and four Government responses. I commend the reports to the Assembly.
Sitting suspended from 4.50 to 8.00 pm
EVIDENCE (CLOSED-CIRCUIT TELEVISION) (AMENDMENT) BILL 1994
Debate resumed from 10 May, on motion by Mr Connolly:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
MS SZUTY (8.00): Madam Speaker, I moved last week to adjourn the debate on the Evidence (Closed-Circuit Television) (Amendment) Bill 1994 because I wished to consider fully the background information to the Bill and a number of implications and ramifications that the introduction of these new measures would bring. During my normal consideration of legislation before the Assembly, I begin the process with a reading of the relevant Minister's presentation speech. It was thus that I started in my consideration of this Bill. Generally, the Minister's presentation speech provides the context from which the Bill is developed. So what information did I find in the speech? Extensive references to report No. 63 of the Australian Law Reform Commission, "Children's Evidence - Closed-Circuit TV", and some reference to the earlier research paper entitled "The use of closed-circuit TV for child witnesses in the ACT", a paper commissioned by the Australian Law Reform Commission. I will give some examples of the notes I took from the Minister's presentation speech, which will explain what I am talking about.
Firstly, the Law Reform Commission's report generally endorsed the findings and recommendations of the research paper. Further, closed-circuit TV was generally seen to be fair both to the defendant and to the child, certainly by the overwhelming majority of legal professionals; but there were some who did not believe that the use of closed-circuit TV was something that the Law Reform Commission should endorse totally.
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