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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 4 Hansard (6 May) . . Page.. 974 ..

MR HUMPHRIES: It is a minor amendment to the legislation, but it has extremely important consequences in terms of costs.

Mr Wood: You did not say that in your first speech.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Wood, I am telling you now. Perhaps if you are over here one day soon, Mr Wood, as Attorney-General, you will appreciate the saving that this sort of provision would make.

Mr Wood: What is the next step? What is the next saving you will make? What is the next amendment you are going to bring down that will bring a saving?

MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Wood, you have spoken already.

MR HUMPHRIES: Any measure which reasonably affects the capacity of the court to deal with its business and saves the community some money, Mr Speaker, I will be prepared to bring down to this place, and I hope, through the same gritted teeth, that Mr Wood will be prepared to support those amendments.

These amendments are important. They do provide for that kind of saving for the system. They are not significant in the sense that they significantly truncate anybody's rights or capacity to enter a plea of not guilty and to argue that matter fully before the courts, but they do, I suppose, put an onus on accused people to make a decision at an early stage by asking themselves, "Do I try to run what might be perhaps a very tenuous case to try to prove my innocence, do I try to argue a case for innocence, or do I run a case which might occasion a heavier penalty on me because I am going to the court and not seeking a discount by an early plea?". I think, Mr Speaker, we would all agree that that kind of improvement is important to the operation of our criminal justice system. I thank members for their support and I commend the Bill to the house.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.

MR SPEAKER: Is it the wish of the Assembly to dispense with the detail stage?

Mr Wood: I thought about it, but we can dispense with it.

MR SPEAKER: That is very generous of you, Mr Wood.

Leave granted to dispense with the detail stage.

Bill agreed to.

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