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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 02 Hansard (Thursday, 4 March 2004) . . Page.. 795 ..

Clause 197.

MS GALLAGHER (5.51): I move amendment No 28 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page 816].

During consultation on the bill, Ms Dundas suggested that the bill would be improved if paragraph 197 (2) (d) were removed. The government agrees. Clause 197 allows the chief executive to publish details of convictions under the act. The provision would allow the chief executive to publish the identity of the convicted person, details of the offence, the decision of the court and the penalty imposed. At the moment, the bill would also allow the chief executive to publish any other relevant information about the offence. This is not necessary as the purpose of the provision is simply to ensure that members of the public can be informed about information that is relevant to the conviction.

Amendment agreed to.

MS DUNDAS (5.52): Mr Speaker I move amendment No 8 circulated in my name [see schedule 3 at page 817] .

We have just agreed to remove paragraph 197 (2) (d). I thank the government for doing that, but I believe that we also need to remove clause 197 (5) as I don’t think it is necessary. I believe that the reference to the Civil Law (Wrongs) Act is unnecessary and we need to remove any rule that implies that, whatever a chief executive considers appropriate, is automatically a fair report, even if it is not, which is what clause 197 (5) does. We don’t need it there. It implies that any information published by the chief executive is taken to be a fair report. We don’t need that, especially considering all the other provisions about the publication of chief executive convictions.

MRS CROSS (5.53): I will be supporting Ms Dundas’s amendment. It gives unfair protection to the chief executive by deeming all reports written to be a fair report.

MS TUCKER (5.53): The Greens will be supporting this amendment. I was pleased to see the government itself remove the protection against defamation from almost any statement the chief executive may choose to make. I still don’t see why the chief executive needs a public concern protection of the civil law when the other matters, which are referred to in the part of this information of fact, are closely specified.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 197, as amended, agreed to.

Clauses 198 to 205, by leave, taken together and agreed to.

Proposed new clause 205A.

MR PRATT (5.55): I move amendment No 7 circulated in my name which inserts a new clause 205A [see schedule 2 at page 816]

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