Page 354 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 12 February 2013
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There is a minor amendment to the bill which I will move in the detail stage. It is addressing an adjustment to the commencement provisions to ensure that it has prospective effect. The bill is identical to the bill that lapsed prior to the election earlier this year. However, since that time Treasury officials have identified that it would be prudent to clarify that the ACT Treasurer is able to enter into an agreement with the Reserve Bank of Australia for the purpose of opening an ACT local hospital network bank account under clause 15. It is a minor and technical amendment. I commend the bill to the Assembly.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
Detail stage
Bill, by leave, taken as a whole.
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Chief Minister, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Health and Minister for Higher Education) (10.30): Pursuant to standing order 182A(b), I seek leave to move an amendment to this bill as it is minor and technical in nature.
Leave granted.
MS GALLAGHER: I move amendment No 1 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page 427].
I table a supplementary statement. I spoke to this at the in-principle stage. I think I have addressed the content of the amendment.
MR HANSON (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (10.31): The Canberra Liberals will be supporting the amendment. As the Chief Minister has outlined, it is minor and technical in nature. I do want to speak to the broader point, though, as to the nature of this amendment and the impact of the new standing order on this amendment.
This is an example of the new standing order that has been brought in that prevents amendments from being debated in this place unless we have a certain amount of notice. Often when we are dealing with legislation, particularly complex legislation, there will be minor technical amendments that are necessary, that are picked up, as in this case, by Treasury officials, to make a bill more workable. We should not be prevented, as we have been in this case, from debating a piece of legislation for two months simply because there is a minor and technical amendment that needs to be made to a bill.
I think that we could dispense with the standing order entirely and leave it up to members’ judgement as to whether we would debate an amendment if somebody is wanting to do so. We can always defer; we can always suspend a piece of legislation
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