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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 11 Hansard (6 November) . . Page.. 3853 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

Violence Act a complete code. The Government does not support that proposed legislative approach. There are risks involved in duplicating provisions from one piece of legislation to another in that any subsequent amendments to the Act, the provisions of which are being duplicated, may not be picked up in the Act where they are reproduced. This may result in legislation being developed inconsistently. It is my view that the Committee's objective in having a single point of reference may be achieved by simply inserting a notation into the Act which refers to the procedural provisions in the Magistrates Court (Civil Jurisdiction) Act, which apply to proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act.

Further, the Government is unable to accept the Committee's proposal for a purposes and principles clause to be inserted in the Act. The Government does not accept that the inclusion of such a clause will necessarily enhance the clarity of the law in this area. Unless carefully drafted, such clauses may, in fact, give rise to internal inconsistencies in the legislation. It is also worth noting, Mr Speaker, that purpose and principle clauses are not a feature of most ACT legislation, and it is my view that, in relation to the Domestic Violence Act, in particular the purposes are reflected in the substantive provisions of the legislation.

I wish to comment now on the proposed extension of the Coroner's jurisdiction to specifically inquire into systemic issues arising from `domestic homicide'. Mr Speaker, as you are aware, the Coroners Bill 1997 was introduced in the Legislative Assembly in June of this year. Capacity does exist, pursuant to the provisions of that Bill, to give effect to the substance of a number of the recommendations of the Committee. Nonetheless, it is the Government's view that the specific provisions proposed by the recommendations should not be implemented.

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