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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 03 Hansard (Thursday, 11 March 2004) . . Page.. 1106 ..

Leave granted.

MR HARGREAVES: I present:

Planning and Environment—Standing Committee—Report 27—Inquiry into the building of a supermarket next to the Belconnen Markets—Final minutes of proceedings.

I advise the chamber that this is a mechanical process, which completes the set of minutes that should accompany that report.

Construction Occupations (Licensing) Bill 2003

Detail stage

Debate resumed from 9 March 2004.

Clause 1 agreed to.

Clause 2.

MRS DUNNE (4.56): I move amendment No 1 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page 1177].

This amendment seeks to delay the commencement of this legislation. As with a number of bills that are quite complex in their nature, we have to ensure that we take the community with us and, when legislation is operational, that the affected parts of the community understand its implications. There is still a high level of uncertainty and suspicion in elements of the industry about this bill and what it does. Before anything happens, the minister needs to ensure that there is a much higher level of understanding than is currently the case. In addition, I foreshadow that I still have considerable problems with schedule 2 of the amendments, and this will allow the minister more time to get into some shape those regulations that are causing members and the community a problem.

It was said to me in discussion the other day that waiting until 1 January may be a long time. I am open to negotiation on an earlier commencement date, but the routine commencement date will cause a problem. It did with the industrial manslaughter bill, and the minister came up with an alternative commencement date so as to ensure that the community understood the implications of the law. This is really a similar process. The industrial manslaughter legislation creates a precedent, and members should support it so that we know the community has a full understanding of what this bill does.

MR CORBELL (Minister for Health and Minister for Planning) (4.58): The government will not be supporting this amendment for the following reasons. With the passage of the Building Bill 2003, that legislation will commence automatically in September, if I do not commence it earlier. To delay the commencement of this legislation until 1 January will have serious consequences and the government cannot support it. The most critical issue that members should be aware of is that the Building Bill 2003 has no disciplinary or licensing provisions. That means that builders will not be able to be licensed in the

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