Page 1589 - Week 05 - Thursday, 11 May 2006
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Clauses 53 to 99, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 100.
MR STEFANIAK (Ginninderra) (4.56): I move amendment No 15 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page 1665]. In the government bill there is a review of the act after three years of operation which provides:
The Minister must—
(a) review the operation and effectiveness of this Act after it has been in operation for 3 years; and
(b) present a report of the review to the Legislative Assembly before the end of the Act’s 4th year of operation.
This amendment also has a 10-year sunset clause, as I understand do all the other states, the Northern Territory and the commonwealth in relation to their legislation, hence a review of the act after five years and a report before the end of the act’s sixth year of operation to the Legislative Assembly.
Again, I think this is a question of consistency. This is not quite the same as the threshold question in relation to the tests that should be applied. It is not particularly difficult, I would submit, to extend the operation of an act if it is deemed necessary, whether it is five years or 10 years. All other states and territories have deemed that their acts should operate for 10 years with a review after a longer period of time than the government is proposing. For the sake of consistency in that regard, I move this amendment.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for Planning) (4.58): The government will not be supporting this amendment. This seems to be a case of consistency for the sake of consistency, rather than for any other real argument. It is important to remember that this bill is called the Terrorism (Extraordinary Temporary Powers) Bill. It is therefore considered that the powers are both extraordinary and temporary.
To propose a 10-year sunset clause or a review after 10 years of operation really means that the legislation can potentially go on indefinitely. The government’s view is that this legislation should be considered as both extraordinary and temporary and be subject to review after a short period of time. So our requirement is that, first of all, there be a five-year sunset clause. This was chosen to ensure that the need for legislation, and therefore its proportionality in relation to human rights, is tested within the Assembly within a reasonable period of time.
Secondly, the provision in the existing bill is that the review be conducted after three years, with a report presented to the Assembly before the end of the fourth year of the bill’s operation. This has regard for the extraordinary nature of powers being granted to courts and to the police in this bill. We believe this is an appropriate level of review, given the extraordinary level of power that is proposed. The government will not support the Liberal Party’s prolongation of that.
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