That this bill be agreed to in principle.

Mr Speaker, I am pleased to present the Legislative Assembly (Members' Staff) Amendment Bill 2000, which clarifies the employment conditions of Members' staff.

Mr Speaker, the Legislative Assembly (Members' Staff) Act provides for default links to standard employment conditions in the ACT Public Service where conditions are not already specified in the Act or in employment agreements. While the majority of employment conditions of Members' staff are now covered by employment agreements, conditions such as maternity leave continue to be derived from the ACT Public Service.

The introduction in recent years of agency-based enterprise agreements has allowed for significant improvements in conditions for staff in the ACT Public Service. However, this has also meant that there is no longer a 'standard' set of employment conditions that apply across the Service, apart from those provided by the Public Sector Management Act and Management Standards. In other words, Mr Speaker, the current default links to conditions in the ACT Public Service are ambiguous and need to be clarified.

Mr Speaker, the Bill will provide that clarity by replacing the reference in the Act to 'standard conditions in the Government Service', with a specific link to the Public Sector Management Act 1994 and Management Standards. This will preserve the existing employment conditions of Members' staff including access to relevant conditions in the ACT Public Service. The current employment agreements are unaffected by the Bill.

Mr Speaker, the Legislative Assembly (Members' Staff) Act contains links to the repealed Commonwealth Merit Protection (Australian Government Employees) Act 1984. Last year, amendments were passed in the Assembly to preserve the existing role of the Commonwealth Merit Protection Commissioner in relation to review processes and reintegration assessments, notwithstanding the repeal of the Merit Protection Act.