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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 9 Hansard (4 September) . . Page.. 3024 ..

MR WHITECROSS (10.02): Mr Speaker, it is good to see you upholding the right of members to debate in this place.

MR SPEAKER: I will crack down on boring repetition.

MR WHITECROSS: Mr Speaker, it will not be boring repetition. Let me get straight to the point here. Mr Stefaniak, in his remarks just then, said that the magistrates - and I think he might have even referred to the Chief Magistrate - had requested this guidance. I was at a round table with the Minister the other day at which I asked about this. Not a shred of evidence was produced that anybody had asked for any guidance; nor were the terms of that request for guidance produced. We are yet to see any evidence of anyone asking for any guidance on that. I challenge the Minister - or Mr Stefaniak, who seems to be an expert on what the magistrates want - to table the evidence that they have asked for guidance and the terms of that guidance, Mr Speaker, because I have not seen any of it. There is no reference to it in the tabling speech either, I might say.

Mr Speaker, the fact is that, regardless of whether they did or did not ask for guidance, Mr Moore's amendments, which Labor is supporting, will provide that guidance. It is simply wrong for Mr Kaine and Mr Stefaniak to say that we are not providing the magistrates with additional guidance, regardless of whether or not they actually ever asked for it.

MR STEFANIAK (Minister for Education and Training) (10.03): Mr Speaker, in relation to Mr Whitecross's point about guidance, Mr Kaine's department has quite clearly indicated that the court has drawn attention to the present lack of such guidance. It is not uncommon - - -

Mr Moore: Where? Show us. Go on, commit yourself.

MR STEFANIAK: I tend to accept what departmental officials tell me.

MR SPEAKER: Order! The house will come to order, or you will all be showing it outside.

MR STEFANIAK: I tend to accept what departmental officials tell me. Mr Moore, I can tell you that, from my experiences, quite often magistrates and judges will point to a lack of guidance or the need to amend legislation to assist them in their duties.

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