Page 1894 - Week 05 - Thursday, 5 May 2011
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up over the entire ORS staff, and that is a good result for the Canberra community. The Greens are supporting this bill.
MR HANSON (Molonglo) (11.09): The opposition will be supporting this bill which is one in a series of omnibus legislation to amend laws administered by the Department of Justice and Community Safety. The bill’s primary purpose is to streamline administrative arrangements in the Office of Regulatory Services. To enable coordination of the new arrangements for the Office of Regulatory Services, the bill will start on the attorney’s written notice.
A number of minor technical amendments are also included. The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2008 is amended to correct a typographical error. The Associations Incorporation Act 1991 is amended to provide consistency between two sections, both of which deal with the process of cancellation of resignation of an incorporated association when it fails to lodge annual returns for two years.
In relation to streamlining administration of the various acts under the eye of the Office of Regulatory Services, this bill amends those acts to enable the Commissioner for Fair Trading or an inspector appointed under the fair trading act 1992 to take on the roles variously of registrar, commissioner, inspector or investigator as appropriate.
This will provide consistency in title terminology and will obviate the need, as is the current practice, for the same people to hold various appointments, as well as separate identity cards, in order to exercise the powers and undertake the duties required of such officers under those acts. The individual functions, powers and duties of commissioners and inspectors under the various acts are not affected. But it means that separate appointments and the issuing of separate identity cards will no longer be required.
The following acts are amended to achieve these outcomes: the Charitable Collections Act 2003; Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) (Enforcement) Act 1995; Fair Trading (Australian Consumer Law) Act 1992; Hawkers Act 2003; Prostitution Act 1992; Roads and Public Places Act 1937; Sale of Motor Vehicles Act 1977; Smoke-Free Public Places Act 2003; and Tobacco Act 1927.
These amendments are worthy of support because they create efficiencies in service delivery.
I note the attorney’s acknowledgement in his presentation speech of the Assembly’s requirement that omnibus bills—that is, JACS bills like this one as well as the statute law amendment bills—should not carry amendments of a substantive or controversial nature. None of the amendments proposed in this bill are controversial. The amendments made to improve efficiency in the Office of Regulatory Services, whilst having some substance, are not controversial and are simple in concept.
I am glad that the attorney seems finally to be getting the message about the Assembly’s mind on these things, and we will be supporting this bill.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Minister for Energy and Minister for Police and
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