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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 13 Hansard (9 December) . . Page.. 4263 ..
MR RUGENDYKE (2.18 am): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move amendments Nos 2 and 3 together in my name.
Leave granted.
MR RUGENDYKE: I move:
Page 9 -
Line 12, proposed new paragraph 10 (1) (d), omit the paragraph, substitute the following paragraphs:
"(d) unless paragraph (e) or (f) applies-special assistance in an amount of $30,000;
(e) if the victim is a police officer, ambulance officer or firefighter, and the criminal injury was sustained in the course of the exercise of his or her functions as a police officer, ambulance officer or firefighter-special assistance by way of reasonable compensation for pain and suffering in an amount of no more than $50,000;
(f) if the criminal injury was sustained as a result of a violent crime consisting of an offence against sections 92A to 92L of the Crimes Act 1900 (in Part 3A "Sexual offences")-special assistance by way of reasonable compensation for pain and suffering in an amount of no more than $50,000.".
Line 16, proposed new subsection 10 (2), after "court", insert "under paragraph (1) (d)".
Mr Speaker, amendment 2 is the one we have just been discussing. Amendment 3 is simply a machinery provision.
MR STANHOPE (Leader of the Opposition) (2.19 am): I will not repeat the arguments. Mr Rugendyke has now formally moved this proposal that just a special group of citizens be elevated to this position. In fact, we are talking about 0.1 per cent of the population having this enhanced position. These are the elite. These are a primary group of victims. These are the only victims of crime in the ACT that are to get this Rolls Royce treatment. We had a little discussion about Rolls Royce in relation to the Discrimination Act the other day. This is Rolls Royce treatment, for just this minute group of people. We are talking here about a couple of thousand people. These couple of thousand people have been elevated to the top of the tree. This is the elite. There is a Rolls Royce service for this elite. The rest of the community miss out.
MR SPEAKER: Repetition.
MR STANHOPE: Mothers and fathers miss out. Kids miss out. Shop assistants miss out. Bank tellers miss out. Attendants, kids in shops, kids actually going about their business in Civic who get beaten up, kids who get beaten up on the way to school all miss out. They do, precisely. Women subjected to appalling harassment culminating in the burning of their doormats miss out. They do. We need to restate that. That is what this means.
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