Page 72 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 14 February 2012
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Minor amendments to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body Act 2008 will also be introduced in 2012. These amendments were recommended by the ACT Electoral Commission, to be enacted ahead of the next elections for the elected body, due in 2014.
Following the outstanding success of the ACT’s new portable long service leave scheme for the community sector, the government will introduce the Long Service Leave (Contract Security Industry) Bill 2012 to extend the regime to workers in the ACT’s security industry so they are provided with similar benefits. An exposure draft of this bill is currently out for industry consultation.
Additionally, following the detection of a number of illegal boarding houses in July 2010, and drawing on community feedback, the government will introduce the Public Health (Boarding House) Bill 2012. This is designed to uphold community standards and protect the rights of boarders, whilst not adversely affecting opportunities for legitimate boarding-style accommodation or shared accommodation arrangements.
The government will also introduce a number of bills to ensure that the rights of all Canberrans continue to be protected. The government will present a bill to amend the Human Rights Act, to implement changes stemming from the five-year review of the act. The bill will also implement amendments flowing from the review of the extension of the act to economic, social and cultural rights. The proposed amendments will have a positive effect on human rights and strengthen the human rights culture of the territory.
My speech for the spring 2011 legislation program foreshadowed the introduction of the Crimes (Child Sex Offenders) Amendment Bill in late 2011. Due to the technical nature of these amendments and stakeholder engagement, the bill has taken longer than expected. The bill will be introduced in early 2012.
Additionally, the Crimes (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2012 will make a number of minor and more complex amendments to a range of ACT criminal law legislation, including amendments concerning certain property offences and sexual offences and the offence of affray; victim impact statements; the giving of evidence in sexual and violent offence cases; the hearing of matters involving children and adults charged jointly; referral of offenders to the Court Alcohol and Drug Assessment Service; and firearms legislation. Many of these amendments flow from issues drawn to the government’s attention by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Other issues to be addressed in this bill were raised by ACT Policing and the courts.
The government will also be moving two important pieces of legislation to improve and refine the existing arrangements for the management and coordination of emergency response in the ACT. Through the Emergencies (Commissioner’s Directions) Bill 2012, the government will strengthen the territory’s statutory arrangements to ensure that they are at the forefront of emergency management for high-level control and coordination, by providing the Emergency Services Commissioner with the necessary authority to give directions to the chief officers of
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