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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 13 Hansard (3 December) . . Page.. 4287 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

commencement date continues to apply in relation to a complaint dismissed (whether before or after the commencement date) under the Principal Act as in force immediately before the commencement date.

(2) Any direction given by the Commissioner by virtue of the operation of subsection (1) is enforceable as if it were an order made by the Tribunal under the Principal Act as amended by this Act.

(3) In this section -

`Commissioner' means the person who holds office as Commissioner on 30 December 1996.".

Page 27, line 22, clause 24, omit "order is enforceable by the Tribunal as if it had made the order", substitute "direction is enforceable as if it were an order made by the Tribunal".

One amendment is a fairly minor, almost typographical, amendment, and the other is somewhat more substantive. The effect of the major amendment is to insert a new transitional provision, clause 20A, relating to the directions given pursuant to section 93 of the Discrimination Act. Clause 20A is a transitional provision which ensures that, where the Discrimination Commissioner dismisses a complaint pursuant to the Act as in force immediately before the commencement of the new provisions in the Bill, the commissioner will have the capacity to give a direction pursuant to section 93 of the Act in relation to that complaint. Section 93 enables the commissioner to direct a complainant to pay to the respondent an amount in respect of the expenses incurred by the respondent in defending an action.

The provision will apply only in relation to a complaint dismissed by the person who holds office as the commissioner on 30 December 1996, irrespective of whether the complaint is dismissed before or after the commissioner ceases to hold that office. Members may recall that clause 20 of the Bill makes provision for the incumbent commissioner to continue to deal with matters that are part heard when her term expires. Should the commissioner dismiss such a matter after 30 December, this amendment will enable her to give a direction pursuant to section 93 of the Act in relation to that matter. So it is a saving provision, which I think is important to ensure that there is no lacuna in the operation of the legislation and the enforcement provisions under it.

The second amendment is a very minor one which corrects an error in clause 24. That clause refers presently to an order when it should refer to a direction given by the commissioner. I commend those amendments. I might just record that Mr De Domenico has chosen not to take part in this debate or to vote on this legislation because of the perception that there may be a conflict of interest in his case. Mr De Domenico has a matter presently before the Discrimination Commissioner and he has taken, I think, the appropriate course of action and has chosen not to participate in this debate or to cast a vote on this matter today.

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