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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 6 Hansard (19 June) . . Page.. 1851 ..

Debate resumed from 8 May 1997, on motion by Mr Kaine:

That this Bill be agreed to in principle.

MR WOOD (4.26): The Opposition will be supporting this Bill. Indeed, this Bill has quite a history and follows a thread in discussions between the Commonwealth and the States and Territories on mutual recognition and on means of improving relationships and removing obstructions in dealings between the various States and Territories. Therefore, it is important to follow through. It follows logically the Australian Mutual Recognition Agreement. That has been in place for some years now. It is a good step, then, to incorporate New Zealand in those same sorts of arrangements. It is about mutual recognition. I think it is about mutual respect. We are not going back to the days when we used to debate whether or not New Zealand should be a State of Australia; that has long passed. But it is clear that, in everything we do, we ought to have closer and better links and less confusing links between Australia and New Zealand. This Bill is an important step in that direction and, obviously, it has our strong support.

MR MOORE (4.27): Mr Speaker, in rising to support this Bill, I must say that it raises a number of issues which are particularly important. I notice we were told in the presentation speech:

The purpose of this Bill is to give effect to the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement which was signed by the Prime Minister, all Premiers and the Chief Ministers of the ACT and the Northern Territory last June. That arrangement was subsequently signed by the Prime Minister of New Zealand last July.

I think there is an important lesson to come out of such legislation, mutual recognition legislation and national uniform legislation, and that is this: When Ministers of this Assembly go to ministerial meetings, they already have a very good idea as to what it is that they are being asked to sign. There are discussions that go on at those meetings, and compromises are made. When they go to those meetings they already know. We have no idea what is going on there, and I want to make it very clear to members of the Executive here and any future members of the Executive that, if I do not know what is going on or what you are signing, you cannot sign it on my behalf; you cannot take it for granted that I will support such pieces of legislation.

In this case I am going to support the legislation. It is very important that members of this Cabinet or any future Cabinet understand that that is a critical point. I think it is a sentiment that is shared by other members of the crossbenches. The Opposition probably could not care less. It seems to me that the opportunity is there for Ministers to check with us when there are issues of mutual recognition to be considered. They do not have to do it in a formal way; I am very comfortable about it being done in an informal way. I think this applies to even quite ordinary things such as driving licences,

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