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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 7 Hansard (21 June) . . Page.. 2311 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

Mr Speaker, this legislation is straightforward and it is appropriate. It is about openness, and there should be nothing to be frightened of. It is sensible legislation.

Mr Humphries has indicated his preference for 10 years rather than six years. Mr Humphries, there are two debates. One is about retrospectivity and prospectivity. The other is about the number of years. Demonstrate how open you are. Go with Labor and go with their 6 years.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.

Detail stage

MR MOORE (Minister for Health, Housing and Community Services) (12.09): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move together the revised amendments circulated in my name.

Leave granted.

MR MOORE: Mr Speaker, I move the revised amendments Nos 1 to 5 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page ] and table a supplementary memorandum to the Executive Documents Release Bill. I have covered most of these issues in the in-principle debate, but I would be happy to respond to any further issues raised by members.

MR STANHOPE (Leader of the Opposition) (12.10): Mr Speaker, I do not wish to speak for all that much longer on this bill. We have made our position quite clear about it, except for a couple of points that I do want to reiterate where we have been grievously misrepresented. The Labor Party does not believe that this matter should be dealt with today. We sought to have it put off so that we could have a serious look at the Territory Records Bill. I repeat my regret that the government did not have an opportunity to respond to the justice committee's report on the Executive Documents Release Bill. I am not sure how often that happens, but it does not happen very often. As I understand it, the government almost always responds to committee reports; if it does not, it should.

Mr Moore: Not to private members bills.

MR STANHOPE: You say that it was a private members bill, but it is not a private members committee; it is a committee of this Assembly which made a report on the piece of legislation we are now debating. It was a report to the parliament and the government responds to reports to the parliament by the committee system.

Mr Humphries: Sometimes, not always.

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