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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 6 Hansard (24 May) . . Page.. 1719 ..
MR MOORE (Minister for Health and Community Care) (7.56): Mr Speaker, in respect of this whole motion I stand aside from the government and respond as an Independent member. I will be supporting Mr Rugendyke's amendment because this section of Mr Stanhope's motion, I believe, can only be supported with Mr Rugendyke's amendment included.
I am always reluctant to ask the federal government to intervene in any way with a state or territory and with their law, with one exception, in principle, and that is when there is an international convention involved. What becomes very clear when we are talking about young people is that there is an international convention that is breached in terms of mandatory sentencing of young people. To me that seems self-evident. That is my interpretation. There may be other international conventions that I am not aware of that are breached by mandatory sentencing. Do not misunderstand me; I find mandatory sentencing appalling. I have put that position in this place on many occasions, but there is another step when we are talking about seeking intervention by the federal government.
As a rule there should be no intervention by the federal government unless there is a breach of an international convention. The examples Mr Stanhope gave earlier were about the breach of an international convention which gave the federal government the right to interfere with the laws in Tasmania. Indeed, that was the method. So, with Mr Rugendyke's amendment, I feel comfortable about supporting that particular section of the motion.
In some ways I find it disappointing that we are going down this path because it seems to me that if we had gone down the path of supporting an amendment by Mrs Carnell we would have had a more cooperative approach. When we are seeking reconciliation, that would have been a better way of dealing with this issue. That having been said, and it was a little bit of a reflection on a vote, I understand the very strong feelings that people have in this place about the reconciliation process and about the damage of mandatory sentencing, particularly on young people.
I will be able to support the motion with one other exception, and that is the third paragraph which reads:
supports the adoption of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation's Declaration Towards Reconciliation.
I have not seen the Australian Declaration Towards Reconciliation. I have not read it. I do not believe any other member here has read it in its final form, and I cannot, for the life of me, see how you can take into your hands the responsibility to support something that you have not read. I am hoping that when it comes down Mr Stanhope will bring this matter before us again and I will be able to support it. I suspect that I will be able to support it. I know there have been drafts.
Mr Stanhope: It is on the web.
MR MOORE
: I presume you have seen a draft version of it and are comfortable, but things can change. Mr Speaker, I thank members for their indulgence. I did get a little bit off the amendment. But with that in mind, I indicate now that I will be seeking to have
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