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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 5 Hansard (9 May) . . Page.. 1388 ..

MRS DUNNE (continuing):

are not as simple as they seemed when one was young ... but also in a sense more specific to those who, in this century, have been compelled to observe the political and economic consequences of excessive extension of state power over the economy.

This sort of introspection and reflection shows that Heinz Arndt was very much an intellectual-an intellectual in the very best sense. He made a great contribution to the intellectual life of this city, and was a tireless letter writer.

One of his pet subjects, as we have heard, was Indonesia. He maintained over a very long period an active correspondence or debate with one Canberra journalist who wrote about the coup events in 1965, and he made his last contribution to that debate only last week.

Mr Speaker, as I have said, Heinz Arndt was an intellectual in the best public sense, and his legacy to Canberra and this nation is a formidable one.

Question resolved in the affirmative, members standing in their places.

Statute Law Amendment Bill 2002

Mr Stanhope , pursuant to notice, presented the bill and its explanatory memorandum.

Title read by Clerk.

MR STANHOPE (Chief Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Health, Minister for Community Affairs and Minister for Women) (10.45): I move:

That this bill be agreed to in principle.

Mr Speaker, this bill makes statute law revision amendments to ACT legislation under revised guidelines for the technical amendments program approved by my government. The bill makes amendments that are minor or technical, and non-controversial. They are insufficiently important to justify the presentation of separate legislation in each case, and inappropriate to make as editorial amendments in the process of republishing legislation under the Legislation Act 2001. A copy of the revised guidelines of the technical amendments program is attached to the explanatory memorandum to the bill.

The bill serves the important purpose of improving the overall quality of the ACT statute book so that our laws are kept up to date and are easy to find, read and understand. A well maintained statute book significantly enhances access to ACT legislation, and it is a very practical measure to give effect to the principle that members of the community have a right to know the laws that they are required to uphold and obey.

The enhancement of the ACT statute book through the technical amendments program is also a process of modernisation. For example, laws need to be kept up to date to reflect ongoing technological and societal change. Also, as the ACT statute book has been created from various jurisdictional sources over a long period, it reflects the various drafting practices, language usage, printing formats and styles throughout the years. It is important to maintain a minimum level of consistency, presentation and cohesion

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