Page 209 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 6 March 2007
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A bill will also be introduced to make minor and technical amendments to the Domestic Violence and Protection Orders Act. The amendments will restructure the form of the legislation to make it simpler and accessible to affected persons and their advocates. Changes to the substance of the legislation are primarily in response to procedural deficits highlighted in recent court litigation.
The government is committed to sustainability to ensure that future generations have a quality of life that equals or surpasses our own. Legislation will be introduced to extend the greenhouse gas abatement scheme to 2020 and beyond, unless and until a national emissions trading scheme is established. In regard to energy use, the government intends to apply the new national gas law, being model national legislation enacted in South Australia, in the ACT.
Safety is an ever-important government priority and it is proposed to provide a nationally consistent and best-practice legislative scheme to improve compliance with and enforcement of the road transport laws for heavy vehicles. The control of firearms is also a major public safety issue that needs both a national and local approach. A new Firearms Amendment Bill will address the illegal trade of firearms, increase penalties for firearms offences, and require applicants for firearms licences to satisfy more stringent criteria before a firearms licence is issued.
Fire safety is also to be given attention. There has been an increasing trend in the occurrence of house fires in the ACT over recent years. Given the overwhelming evidence that smoke alarms significantly reduce damage to property, serious injuries and deaths from fire, a smoke alarm legislation amendment bill will be introduced to require installation of such alarms in residential premises.
It is also proposed to revise the legal framework for the care and protection of children and young people who are experiencing, or are at risk of, abuse and neglect. The rewrite of the Children and Young People Act will also provide for sentencing and sentence administration for children and young people.
A high government priority is reform of the territory’s planning and lease administration system. The first significant step has already been taken with the introduction of the Planning and Development Bill in December. Ongoing from this project will be amendments to introduce a new codified system for the assessment and levying of change of use charge. It is expected that these amendments will be progressed for introduction this year.
To overcome difficulties concerning bodies corporate and the management of bodies corporate, amendments are also planned to the Unit Titles Act 2001. These reforms will introduce provisions to assist in the settlement of disputes within bodies corporate and consumer protection provisions with respect to the management of bodies corporate.
Other government legislation to be introduced includes a bill for a more effective and better integrated framework for the regulation of surveying in the ACT. This will provide for the continuing professional development of surveyors, standards for the
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