Page 5527 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 9 December 2009
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goes to a matter of practicalities that the bill as circulated proposes, as I recollect—that the bill commence after notification.
There are certain administrative issues proposed in amendments that are to be moved, most particularly the methodology for the appointment of a reviewer of proposed government campaigns that would, if it were passed, rely on the Assembly taking certain decisions around the identify of that particular person. Of course, in the context of the scheme that is proposed, that is something that could not happen until next year, and most certainly not before February.
It is also proposed, in the context of some of the issues relating to a proposed reviewer, for instance, and to remuneration, that those issues be referred to the Remuneration Tribunal. Subject to the outcome of the appointment process and subject to the outcome of a referral to the Remuneration Tribunal, there is then the issue of an appropriate appropriation with respect to that person—subject to the outcome of proposed amendments which I understand, from discussions with colleagues, will pass, despite other amendments that I might propose to move.
Just as a matter of practicality, there needs to be a delay in the commencement of this legislation, taking into account issues around the earliest possible point for appointing a reviewer, which cannot be until at least February, then a referral to the Remuneration Tribunal, then an appropriation. I believe that we need a commencement clause that allows a date to be fixed by written notice, as happens in relation to a whole range of legislation where there are reasons such as this for doing that.
At this stage, that would be some time, I would imagine, after March. In the context of the issue of appropriation, at this stage there is no appropriation; there are no identified funds for paying a person to do this job. I would think that the most reasonable point of commencement will be 1 July, but that is something that we might be able to deal with administratively or we might be able to cash-manage. Certainly, I would not anticipate that this legislation can effectively commence before March. I would ask members of the Assembly to recognise the sense of that and support this first amendment.
MR SESELJA (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (12.11): The opposition will not be supporting this amendment. My concern with it is that, whilst it is perhaps well intentioned, simply by delaying the entirety of the start of the legislation to a day fixed by the minister, the other administrative issues will not be able to be addressed because we would have a situation where none of the legislation is operative. So with respect to the procedures for appointing the reviewer, the legislation to enable that would not have commenced. That is the problem with the proposal put forward by the government on this issue.
We believe that there will be the opportunity to appoint the reviewer early next year and that, obviously, there are unlikely to be large numbers of government campaigns to come before the reviewer before then. There are also other provisions within the act that allow ministers to tick off in certain circumstances, which may well apply were there to be some urgent need to put forward a government advertising campaign in that time.
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