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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (5 September) . . Page.. 3189 ..

MS FOLLETT: Mr Speaker, Report No. 13 of 1996 contains the committee's comments on one Bill, that Bill being the Trading Hours (Amendment) Bill 1996. As there was some debate on the matter, I can confirm that the Bill under debate by the Assembly at this moment is identical to the Bill that was scrutinised by the committee.

Debate resumed.

MR SPEAKER: In relation to your point of order, Mr Moore: This morning the debate on the Bill was adjourned, and the adjourned debate was made an order of the day for the next day of sitting. However, the motion that Mr Humphries moved - that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent the order of the day, Executive business, relating to the Trading Hours (Amendment) Bill 1996 being called on forthwith - has in fact just been carried by this Assembly, and that overturns the previous decision of the Assembly this morning. There is no point of order.

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General) (4.53): Mr Speaker, I declare that the Trading Hours (Amendment) Bill 1996 is an urgent Bill. Mr Speaker, I will speak very briefly in support of that move. The Government has presented the Bill today because of a loophole which appeared in the legislation only in the last couple of days - - -

Mr Moore: Not because a loophole appeared; because of your inadequate Bill. Where did the loophole appear from - from nowhere?

Mr Osborne: You stuffed up again.

MR HUMPHRIES: I must confess that I did not personally draft this piece of legislation. I am a little sorry that the reference to drafting being "stuffed up" might be viewed as a reflection on the skills of the parliamentary counsel who drafted this legislation for the Government. I commend this declaration to the Assembly.

MR MOORE (4.54): Mr Speaker, it continues. We had a lousy policy followed by a lousy Bill that this Minister now attempts to blame on some draftsman. The Minister who brings a Bill into this Assembly and tables it is the Minister who is responsible for it. If it has a hole in it, it is not the drafters who are responsible; it is you or your colleague sitting next to you, if indeed he was the one. Up until now, Mr Humphries, you have always taken responsibility for your own legislation, as we all do. To try to flick pass it to your parliamentary counsel is entirely inappropriate. We have a couple of holes in the original legislation and a lousy process, followed by a process whereby an amending Bill is introduced this morning. Standing orders are suspended to bring it back on this afternoon. If that is not enough, a last-minute change that sets a brand new precedent is thrown into it. Then this Minister comes in and declares it an urgent Bill.

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