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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 8 Hansard (29 August) . . Page.. 2547 ..

MS CARNELL (continuing):

The proposed amendments to the Superannuation (Legislative Assembly Members) Act 1991 will include a choice of superannuation fund for Assembly members, and clarify the administration of the government superannuation surcharge.

Two bills will be introduced to amend the Electoral Act 1992. The first bill will give effect to recommendations made by the ACT Electoral Commission in its review of the act following the 1998 elections. Measures in the bill will include an increase in the number of versions of ballot papers to be printed to remove the "luck of the draw" element in the current system. It will introduce changes to the political party registration scheme to require all parties registered for Assembly elections to have at least 100 members entitled to vote in the ACT. The second bill will amend the legislation to allow for the possibility of electronic voting at the next ACT Legislative Assembly election.

On 25 May 2000, the Assembly passed the Subsidies (Liquor and Diesel) Repeal Bill 2000 to remove the subsidies for diesel and low-alcohol products, with effect from 1 July this year. The subsidy was removed to counter any potential cross-border effect that might be caused by its removal in New South Wales. Subsequently, on 4 July, the New South Wales Treasurer, Mr Michael Egan, announced that New South Wales will continue to subsidise low-alcohol beer until 30 June 2001, in line with an agreement reached with the Commonwealth Treasurer, Mr Peter Costello.

The Commonwealth and the states and territories will meet before 30 June 2001 to negotiate a uniform Commonwealth excise providing a concession for low-alcohol beer, which will remove the need for a separate ACT scheme. Again, the ACT is left with little option but to follow New South Wales and reintroduce subsidies for low-alcohol beer and wine. Members will be aware that Mr Humphries actually tabled that piece of legislation this morning.

My government is keen to address issues raised currently by the courts. Several items on the legislative program will address these matters. A number of recent decisions in the Supreme Court concerning restraining orders have highlighted the need to clarify provisions relating to the making and serving of applications and orders. The current provisions dealing with restraining orders and protection orders are problematic, with the result that the validity of many orders is questionable. The government will be proposing amendments to ensure that there is adequate protection for those applying for orders, especially in domestic violence cases.

The proposed amendments to the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997 will implement a number of recommendations made by the Australian Law Reform Commission in its review into the proceeds of crime legislation. It will prevent criminals from deriving profits from the sale of their life stories, or information relating to their crimes, and will introduce a civil forfeiture scheme based on the successful New South Wales scheme.

The Leases (Commercial and Retail) Bill 2000 builds on the 1998 draft exposure bill and is the result of extensive consultation processes. The bill proposes a number of technical changes to ensure that ACT legislation better reflects market practice. The bill will

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