Page 594 - Week 02 - Thursday, 14 February 2013
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On 14 November 2012, Auditor-General’s report No 9 of 2012 was referred to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts for inquiry. This report presents the results of a performance audit that examined the ACT Legal Aid Commission’s management of grants of legal assistance. The audit report contained 10 recommendations. The committee received a submission from the Legal Aid Commission dated 24 January 2013. In its submission, the commission agreed to nine recommendations and agreed with qualifications to the other recommendation.
The committee has resolved to make no further inquiries into the report. As the audit report deals with matters that fall within the portfolio coverage of the Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety, the public accounts committee has written to that committee to bring the report to its attention.
Public Unleased Land Bill 2012
Detail stage
Debate resumed from 12 February 2013.
Bill as a whole.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo—Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Housing, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs and Minister for Ageing) (11.58): Pursuant to standing order 182A(b), I seek leave to move two amendments to this bill together, as they are minor and technical in nature.
Leave granted.
MR RATTENBURY: I move amendments Nos 1 and 2 circulated in my name together and table a supplementary explanatory statement to the government amendments [see schedule 1 at page 647].
These are amendments which I referred to on Tuesday. To briefly recap, these are government amendments to address two drafting errors identified by the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office. The amendments are minor and technical in nature and address the matter of inserting a reference to the police and also a reference to the register, which was incorrectly stated as a reference to a public unleased land permit. Those were, as I say, errors picked up by the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office. They came to members’ attention a bit later than ideal, but members were advised on Monday of those changes. I think the delay of the introduction of the amendments until today seems somewhat unnecessary.
I would also like to highlight an issue that arose with the Speaker’s ruling on Tuesday. The Speaker came into the chamber and indicated that, in order to ensure clarity, she was making a ruling that amendments must be submitted by 10 am. I think it is helpful that the Speaker gave that clarification. However, members will also note that they received on Monday morning at 9.12 am—that is this Monday, 11 February—an email from the Office of the Legislative Assembly. I will read it for full effect:
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