Page 1415 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 9 May 2006
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Clauses 13 to 15, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 16.
MR STEFANIAK (Ginninderra) (5.57): I seek leave to move amendments Nos 7 and 8 circulated in my name together.
Leave granted.
MR STEFANIAK: I move amendments Nos 7 and 8 circulated in my name together [see schedule 1 at page 1423]. These amendments are probably the most substantial to the government’s bill. They deal with the tests that the police and the court have to be satisfied about before a preventative detention order is granted.
I was pleased to see one recommendation of the committee which looked at this issue being taken up by the government, and that was the question of “reasonably necessary”, which is one of the tests. But in other aspects the government ignored recommendations of a majority of the committee and continued with the same test it had in its draft bill, which is replicated here. That can be found from page 19 onwards of the government’s bill.
At present, and unlike any other jurisdiction, a senior police officer has to be satisfied on reasonable grounds, and after this the courts have to be satisfied, firstly, that it is reasonably necessary to detain the person to prevent a terrorist act—and there is no problem there; secondly, that detaining the person under the order is the least restrictive way of preventing the terrorist act mentioned in subparagraph (1); and, thirdly, that detaining the person for the period for which the person is to be detained under the order is reasonably necessary to prevent the terrorist attack. My amendment omits clause 16 (3) (b); that is, the least restrictive way of preventing a terrorist attack.
At 6.00 pm, in accordance with standing order 34, the debate was interrupted and the resumption of the debate made an order of the day for the next sitting. The motion for the adjournment of the Assembly was put.
Adjournment
Dr Peter Veenker
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella) (6.00): Last Thursday evening I was one of several hundred people who were delighted to attend a farewell dinner for Dr Peter Veenker at the Canberra Institute of Technology. Dr Veenker has been Chief Executive of the Canberra Institute of Technology for almost a decade, in which time he has seen many members of the community attend the Reid CIT as well as other CITs in the ACT. Peter Veenker has spent a significant time in technical and further education, TAFE, and other related areas. Prior to working in TAFE, Peter worked in private sector financial management.
Peter was the foundation chair of TAFE Directors Australia, the peak Australian national body representing TAFE and vocational education and training institutes. He has fellowships with the Australian Institute of Management, the Australian Institute of
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