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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 10 Hansard (25 September) . . Page.. 3280 ..

MR HUMPHRIES: You may think that, Mr Wood, but I do not. If the Assembly does not block these measures - and I am including other things such as the legislation I have tabled today amending the Crimes Act - but puts these things in place so that we can sensibly balance the requirements for safety in the community against civil liberties, then there will not be a law and order auction at the next election. But, if these things are blocked in this place, then there will be just that auction.

MR WOOD (11.33): The approach that I took, with Opposition support, in my role as shadow spokesman on law and order, was not to go out with a lot of hype and raise issues as the current Minister did when he was shadow Minister. Mr Humphries would pore over the statistics on crime, pick out the best bits to suit his purpose and run with them. He did that persistently. That is not something that I have done. I have religiously refrained from doing so. But it is now quite clear that this Minister wants to run a law and order campaign. If he wants to get into it, he has the options here.

The committee whose report we are debating and the Assembly itself have laid down the rules for him to follow. He does not want to do that. He wants to hype up the issue. He wants to make something out of it ahead of the election. He has made his intentions quite clear. There is no question about that. The report says what needs to be done. The Assembly has endorsed that. I had expected today that the Minister would stand up and give a progress report - - -

MR SPEAKER: Order! It being 45 minutes after the commencement of Assembly business, the debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 77. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Report and Statement

MR WOOD: Mr Speaker, I present Report No. 14 of 1997 of the Standing Committee on Scrutiny of Bills and Subordinate Legislation and I ask for leave to make a brief statement on that report.

Leave granted.

MR WOOD: Mr Speaker, this report relates most particularly to the Public Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 1997. I would urge the Government to give immediate attention to this report, because in it the committee expresses its disquiet at some of the measures that have been proposed. The Bill introduces a new criminal offence of being likely to cause disease or injury. I can understand the background to the legislation, but the committee is concerned that it is not at all clear how this is to be implemented with due protection to individuals and with a proper concern for justice. This Bill is to be debated later in the day. It is one the Government has indicated it wants to get through in this session - - -

Mr Humphries: No; only in principle.

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