Page 4677 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 7 December 1994
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MR STEVENSON (12.09): Madam Speaker, I can only echo the words of Mr Moore. As the Bill was passed in principle, it is obvious that it is going to go through. If the Chief Minister or other members of the Labor Party have concerns about the legislation, the logical thing to do is to present amendments. This is basic bread-and-butter stuff for the Assembly. It is obvious that the Assembly was concerned about the issue and felt that something should be done about it. I know that the Government has said in the past that there is no problem here; that these things are not happening. But, as Mr Humphries quite rightly mentioned, that is not true. It is something that I have brought up in this Assembly a number of times over the last five or six years, because we kept getting contacted by people who were concerned about these things.
It is one thing for the Chief Minister to say that there are problems; but why not move amendments? If the Chief Minister or any other Minister feels that there are amendments that should be moved, I am prepared to put the matter off until later this day or tomorrow to give them time to move those amendments. The Liberals and the Independents would probably be prepared to do the same thing if a decent argument were raised to say that the Bill should be amended.
MS SZUTY (12.11): I concur with the comments made by both Mr Moore and Mr Stevenson. The point was made in the debate that we passed this Bill in principle. It was clear that the Assembly agreed with the spirit of what Mr Humphries proposed to do. He has come back to the Assembly today with two very sensible amendments which address the concerns which were raised during the debate. As a result of the debate on the matter last time, Madam Speaker, I sought a briefing on this Bill from the Chief Minister's Treasury officers. The briefing was on 7 September. Certainly, at that time, the Chief Minister's Treasury officers appeared to have some difficulty with some of the provisions of the Bill. However, I take Mr Moore's point. The Chief Minister has had quite some time - over two months, in fact - to come back to this Assembly with further amendments to Mr Humphries's Bill, if those amendments have been deemed to be necessary. I find it quite astounding that the Chief Minister has not presented to this Assembly further amendments to Mr Humphries's Bill for consideration today.
Amendments agreed to.
Bill, as a whole, as amended, agreed to.
Bill, as amended, agreed to.
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