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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 02 Hansard (Tuesday, 2 March 2004) . . Page.. 577 ..

Clause 32 agreed to.

Clause 33 agreed to.

Clause 34.

MS DUNDAS (11.24): I seek leave to move amendments 4 and 5 circulated in my name together.

Leave granted.

MS DUNDAS: I move amendments 4 and 5 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page 596].

These amendments require the Supreme Court to notify the Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as the Attorney-General, prior to making a declaration of incompatibility so that the commissioner is aware of the legal conflict. As laid out in other parts of this act, part of the commissioner’s role is to advise the government on matters relating to the operation of the Human Rights Act, so it is sensible for the commissioner to be kept informed where there are opinions about conflict between the Human Rights Act and other ACT statutes as declared by the Supreme Court. This is not a big burden on the government or as part of this legislation, but I think it is an important communicative channel to open up this clause to ensure that the Human Rights Commissioner is being informed at the same time as the Attorney-General about the Supreme Court declarations.

MR STANHOPE (Chief Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Community Affairs and Minister for Environment) (11.25): The government is happy to accept these amendments.

Amendments agreed to.

Clause 34, as amended, agreed to.

Clauses 35 to 38, by leave, taken together.

MRS DUNNE (11.26): Scrutiny of bills is an important issue. Mr Stefaniak in his opening remarks earlier today touched on this matter. I will now make the speech that I attempted to make at quarter past six this evening. It will take about two minutes.

This government is proposing another layer of scrutiny when the scrutiny that already exists is being ignored. I came down here today to seek leave to speak again. As the Chief Minister was down here attempting to pass a bill of rights, I was conducting negotiations—I think they are probably called negotiations—with the office of another minister in an attempt to have my rights to the scrutiny of the bill exercised.

There will be a bill on the Notice Paper, possibly this week. Although the Scrutiny of Bills Committee has already reported, I referred issues back to it because there were issues that it did not touch on. While this government is here attempting to create another

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