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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 4740 ..

Clause 2

MR HUMPHRIES (5.23): Mr Speaker, I move:

Page 1, lines 6 to 8, omit the clause, substitute the following clause:

"Commencement

2. (1) Sections 1, 2 and 3 commence on the day on which this Act is notified in the Gazette.

(2) The remaining provisions commence on a day fixed by the Minister by notice in the Gazette.

(3) If the provisions referred to in subsection (2) have not commenced before the end of the period of 6 months commencing on the day on which this Act is notified in the Gazette, those provisions, by force of this subsection, commence on the first day after the end of that period.".

I present the explanatory memorandum for the amendment. The amendment allows for some differentiation between the date on which the operative sections of the Act - sections 1, 2 and 3 - commence and the date on which the other provisions commence. This allows the Government to prepare, if necessary, some regulations to deal with issues discussed by members before today's resumption of debate on this Bill. Mr Speaker, the Government takes the view that it is appropriate for members of the Assembly to have a more formalised watching brief on the operations of the Remand Centre, and in particular to have a capacity to overview the activities of the Remand Centre with respect to the transfer of prisoners.

It is the intention of the Government that the Legal Affairs Committee of the Assembly should formally be in a position to receive a report, which will be presented to me following the exercise of the power that has been created by this legislation, on the circumstances accompanying a decision to transfer a prisoner out of the ACT. That power, when exercised, would generate a means of accountability to the Standing Committee on Legal Affairs, and hence to the Assembly, which I believe would overcome some of the concerns members had, as exhibited by the amendments tabled when this Bill was last debated, concerning a right to review or consider the wisdom of the exercise of the particular power that is being referred to here.

I believe that it is an important process to ensure that, if this power is being exercised in occasional circumstances which are difficult or which involve some controversy, there be a capacity to review the circumstances of that power being exercised and that the Assembly have some overviewing role in that process. I was surprised to learn last night from Ms Follett that in the previous advisory House of Assembly there was indeed a formally appointed official visitor from among the members of the House of Assembly. Indeed, Ms Follett was that official visitor or prison visitor. Although that is not a notion I am suggesting at this stage, I do think some - - -

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