Page 3928 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 9 November 1994
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Proposals for new laws may be developed over many months or even years within parties and within government departments. Indeed, when the Bills are being drafted they may be drafted over many weeks or even months. It was said in this Assembly by Mr Humphries during one of these debates that the Assembly should not be the shortest phase of the process of introducing new laws. That was a very good point that he made at the time. It is true that there have been cases where matters in this Assembly have been urgent. We have needed to pass the legislation in a hurry, for valid reasons. Also, there are many circumstances where the proposals that we have before the Assembly are of a minor administrative matter. There is no doubt about that. No-one would argue with either of these situations.
At one time in this Assembly I moved a similar motion; but I made a mistake, and it was certainly picked up by members in the Assembly. I had allowed an exemption for urgent Bills. The Assembly could decide that a Bill was urgent and then it could be passed at whatever time we wanted to pass it. But members made the point that many Bills might be of a minor administrative nature, and I had not looked at that. But this time I have made that correction. I have taken heed of the valid point that was raised by members, and both of those allowances are there. If it is an urgent matter, we can bring it on at any time we choose; if it is a minor administrative matter, we can also do so, but there would be a vote by the Assembly on that matter. If the members of the Assembly agree, the debate would not be any longer than perhaps the suggestion that the question be put immediately.
One of the things that can prevent the fast passage of legislation is good planning. Obviously, if we plan things well, there will not be the need to push legislation through rapidly. I think we would all agree that that is a good idea. We would all like to plan better. Let us have a look at the sort of people within our electorate who might be concerned about legislation. There are three major different areas. First of all, there are large and well-resourced groups and organisations. They may be business groups, professional associations, unions, social or cultural groups, or other associations. I grant that they would have the resources and the money to do things in a hurry if they were forced into an urgent, emergency situation because of the fast passage of legislation through this Assembly. They could get into it and they could probably do it.
Then there are smaller groups. They may be community groups, small business associations or clubs. There have been a number of occasions when clubs have been affected by legislation that we have passed. Many of these groups or associations may be socially disadvantaged. They may already be under great stress because of some particular problem that was the very reason why they formed together as a group or that they are trying to handle. It is difficult, if not impossible, for all of these types of smaller groups and associations to handle legislative proposals that have been made without adequate consultation. Thirdly, there are individuals who may, for some reason, feel that the proposed legislation is of concern but the community may not know about it. They may have little or no money, time or resources.
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