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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 9 Hansard (23 November) . . Page.. 2597 ..

government, formed by the party or parties which enjoy the support of the popularly elected house of the parliament, to formulate its budget.

5. This intention is given legislative effect in section 65 of the Self Government Act which provides:

Proposal of money votes

65(1) An enactment, vote or resolution (proposal) for the appropriation of the public money of the Territory must not be proposed in the Assembly except by a Minister.

(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent a member other than a Minister from moving an amendment to a proposal made by a Minister unless the amendment is to increase the amount of public money of the Territory to be appropriated."

6. Section 65(2) was amended by the Arts, Environment and Territories Legislation Amendment Act 1994 to clarify the law. In its previous form it was open to the interpretation that any Private Members Bill which had a consequential effect of causing public money to be expended was contrary to law. This became an issue during the Alliance Government, when the Speaker ruled that a number of Private Members Bills, including the Human Rights Bill, were invalid because their effect would be to involve the expenditure of public funds. A series of legal opinions followed- from the Government Law Office supporting this interpretation, from myself opposing this interpretation, from Mr Brazil of Macphillamy Cummins and Gibson supporting my view, and from D. Jackson Q.C. concluding that it was in each case a matter for interpretation. As a result the Commonwealth acted to clarify the law, and it is clear from the Explanatory Memorandum to the Arts Environment and Territories Legislation Amendment Bill 1994 what this intention was:

"Subsections 65(1) and (2): amended to ensure that the initiative of the Government in introducing legislation into the Assembly on financial matters is no greater or less than that of the Commonwealth Government under section 56 of the Constitution. The reference in the present section 65 to the 'object or effect' of a proposed law, and absence of reference to 'appropriation' suggests that section 65 covers proposals to increase the Territories possible financial liabilities without actually appropriating public moneys. This is not intended"

7. Section 65 is in effect repeated in standing orders 200 and 201. Following the passage of the amendments to the Self Government Act referred to above the Standing Orders were themselves amended to reflect the clear intention of the Act. It is instructive to refer to the Report of the

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