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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 11 Hansard (25 September) . . Page.. 3410 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General) (4.51): Mr Speaker, I rise to associate the Government with the motion that Ms Follett has moved. I must confess that I have not read the report of the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, but if what Ms Follett has said is an accurate representation of that committee's report - she more or less read the report - it certainly finds some support on this side of the chamber.

As a person who is in a personal quandary about the issues put forward by Mr Andrews's Bill, I have sympathy with the motivation that led Mr Andrews, apparently, to move his Bill. However, Mr Speaker, I do have a fundamental concern, and I think the Government shares the concern, that the process used by Mr Andrews to achieve that goal does enormous damage to the relationship, the mature relationship now, I think, between the Commonwealth and the Territories, particularly the ACT.

It is worth reminding people that the ACT attained self-government in the first place, against the wishes of a large number, perhaps a majority, of members of the ACT community at the time, only because the Federal Government no longer wished to have the responsibility of legislating on behalf of the citizens of the Territory. They wanted somebody else to take on that responsibility. They wished to wipe their hands of it. Particularly, they wished to have somebody else to make difficult decisions about managing a reducing fiscal base.

In that light, to decide, more or less randomly, that they wish to take back certain powers or decisions to themselves, I think, is inconsistent. While it might be only one particular incident at this stage, it does do great harm to the capacity of this Territory, and probably of the Northern Territory as well, to plan with certainty what it will do in the future in pursuit of the powers conferred on it by its self-governing legislation. It is like being a little bit pregnant. You cannot occasionally be violated; yet be complete and in control of your own affairs. Mr Speaker, I do think that the Federal Parliament would be making a considerable mistake if it were to think that it could intrude upon the affairs of this Territory, or the Northern Territory, or the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly, on just this one occasion and not fundamentally alter the way in which the Territories exercise their powers as conferred on them by that legislation.

I understand that there are proposals afoot for the Federal Parliament also to consider legislating in respect of the X-rated video industry in the ACT. That is merely a rumour that I have heard. The issue has been taken up by the Chief Minister with the Federal Attorney-General. We have sought a meeting with him to discuss with him what it is that he proposes to do. It may be that legislation proposed by certain people in the Federal Parliament would accord with a policy that I personally, or my party, might at some point believe is supportable, but the method used to achieve that has to be considered in any decision to exercise such a power. I think that to exercise a power in those circumstances would do enormous harm to that relationship and would compromise the responsibility which has been conferred on this place.

Mr Speaker, I do hope that the Federal Parliament listens carefully to what we have to say in this debate. I hope that members generally will be able to support the sentiments in Ms Follett's motion, even those of us in this place who might say, "I agree with what Mr Andrews is trying to do. He really should be given strength to his arm to do this".

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