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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 1 Hansard (20 February) . . Page.. 205 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

One of the difficulties that were identified by the committee was that parliamentary precincts legislation needed to be enacted, and recommendation 1 deals with that matter. The recommendation from the committee is that parliamentary precincts legislation be enacted by the Assembly to clearly define the precincts and make appropriate provision for their control and management. That would make it far easier for persons who misbehave in the chamber to be dealt with in accordance with the law. It is more than difficult now to deal with people who cause a commotion in the chamber, because of the absence of any particular law to protect those officers who might have the authority or who might be asked to exercise an authority to cause people to leave the chamber and allow the parliament to proceed appropriately.

A further recommendation was made by the committee, and it relates to the adoption of a new standing order, 209A, which reads:

If at any sitting of the Assembly, or any committee, any Member states that visitors are present, the Speaker shall put the question "That the visitors be ordered to withdraw" ...

That proposal seeks to give the Assembly or another chamber the authority to cause people who are creating a difficulty within those chambers to withdraw from them so that the procedures of the Assembly are allowed to occur with good order.

Mr Speaker, this has been before the Administration and Procedure Committee for some time. I think the recommendations of the committee go to the issue of behaviour in the chamber and the preservation of good order in order that the Assembly can deal with issues before it; but, at the end of the day, if the Speaker, in the exercise of his authority, dissatisfies the Assembly, it is the Assembly that makes the decision about that authority anyway, as I am sure the Speaker appreciates. The report largely makes it clear that the authority for maintaining order in the Assembly in the case which drew this matter to the attention of the committee rested with the Assembly in many ways, although it is vested in the Speaker at any rate. Ultimately, the Speaker has to exercise that authority. Mr Speaker, I commend the motion to the Assembly.

Debate (on motion by Mr Hird) adjourned.

MS TUCKER (12.01): Mr Speaker, I present report No. 4 of the Standing Committee on Social Policy entitled "Inquiry into the Commonwealth/Territory Disability Agreement", together with the extracts of the minutes of proceedings. I move:

That the report be noted.

Mr Speaker, if we are to have a society which is indeed just and fair, the inclusion of people with disabilities within the community must be supported and valued. Eighteen per cent of our community is classified as having one or more disabilities, according to the ABS 1993 survey of disability, ageing and carers. Thankfully, over the

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