Page 366 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 14 February 2017
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that I move today repairs a technical oversight from 2008 but it provides a very real and tangible benefit to the community today.
This past December an ACT Supreme Court case illustrated a problem. The case was about a person who, having been adopted in Australia, reconnected with his biological father in Germany. He applied to a German court to have the relationship formally recognised.
However, the German court stated that it would not recognise the relationship until the Australian adoption order was discharged. The ACT Supreme Court ruled that technical amendments of the Adoption Act 1993 that were made in 2008 had inadvertently removed the court’s power to discharge an adoption order made under the circumstances of this particular case.
The then Associate Justice Mossop adjourned the matter and invited the government to amend the legislation promptly. That is the purpose of this amendment today. The amendment shows that the government is listening and will respond quickly to the needs of the community. Amending this legislation in the form of the amendment tabled is the quickest and most efficient way to respond.
Amendment agreed to.
Bill, as a whole, as amended, agreed to.
Bill, as amended, agreed to.
Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 (No 3)
Debate resumed from 15 December 2016, on motion by Mr Ramsay:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
MR HANSON (Murrumbidgee) (12.08): The Canberra Liberals will be supporting this bill, including the late amendments. Like the SLAB we have just gone through, the intent of this bill is to be an omnibus bill with minor or technical amendments. However, like the SLAB we also are going to be dealing with a late-notice amendment that has not been submitted in accordance with standing orders, but we will support that amendment. I will speak to that later.
It makes a number of changes to the legislation. Just going through a number of the more prominent, in regard to the Civil Unions Act 2012 we have recognised an interstate relationship as a civil union under territory law. This new section includes the requirements that the corresponding law must meet in order for the relationship to be recognised under the Civil Unions Act. These requirements are the same requirements imposed on civil unions entered into within the territory. We supported the intent of this bill last year; so we will support this, which is a bit of a tidy-up.
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