Page 224 - Week 01 - Thursday, 9 December 2004
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
These provisions will amend the disciplinary regime set out in the Liquor Act so that offences against the Smoking (Prohibition in Enclosed Public Places) Act are a ground for the taking of disciplinary action against a liquor licensee.
Sections 31 and 34 provide for the automatic cancellation of a liquor licence or liquor permit where a licensee or permit holder is convicted of an offence under section 8 of the Smoking (Prohibition in Enclosed Public Places) Act 2003. These provisions bypass the existing disciplinary regime operating under the Liquor Act and, effectively, result in a double penalty being imposed upon a licensee or permit holder for one offence. An automatic cancellation without the benefit of a hearing before the liquor board may result in a denial of natural justice for the licensee.
In addition, the penalty of an automatic cancellation of a licence or permit is disproportionate to the offence under the Smoking (Prohibition in Enclosed Public Places) Act that triggers the cancellation, which only carries a maximum penalty of 10 penalty units—$1,000. The amendment repeals sections 31 and 34. Licensees and permit holders will, however, still be subject to the current disciplinary regime if they breach the Smoking (Prohibition in Enclosed Public Places) Act, as they should be. I commend the Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2004 to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Stefaniak) adjourned to the next sitting.
Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Bill 2004
Mr Stanhope, pursuant to notice, presented the bill, its explanatory memorandum and a Human Rights Act compatibility statement.
Title read by Clerk.
MR STANHOPE (GinninderraChief Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Environment and Minister for Arts, Heritage and Indigenous Affairs) (11.02): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
It gives me great pleasure today to present the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Bill 2004. This bill is the ACT counterpart of a national scheme of legislation to give effect to the national water efficiency labelling and standards scheme, known as the WELS scheme.
Members who were also members of the last Assembly will recall that I wrote to them informing them of negotiations at the ministerial Environment Protection and Heritage Council leading up to the devising and implementation of this scheme. This is a step in the process of the ACT part of the WELS scheme being put into place. The commencement of the scheme depends on the various other jurisdictions introducing and passing their legislation, which is expected by March 2005.
The scheme is expected to conserve 1.4 billion litres of water per year, or 700 Olympic swimming pools in the ACT alone, by 2021 and deliver net savings of $11 million per year. Nationally, the WELS scheme is estimated to conserve more than 87 billion litres
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .