Page 587 - Week 02 - Thursday, 22 February 2018
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have consulted with lake users and other groups although they have not done a deliberative democracy campaign on it. The Greens are happy to support the bill.
MS CHEYNE (Ginninderra) (11.01): Ms Le Couteur, I have to say that I think that is the shortest speech you have ever given in this place.
Mrs Jones: No, I think the Chief Minister outdid her yesterday.
MS CHEYNE: True. It took me by surprise. I rise to speak in support of the Lakes Amendment Bill 2017. This bill amends the Lakes Act 1976. The act commenced operation on 11 May 1989 following self-government. At the time it was a mirror of the commonwealth Lakes Ordinance 1976, which continues to regulate the waters of Lake Burley Griffin.
The ACT Lakes Act and commonwealth Lakes Ordinance have remained largely unchanged since their inception and they no longer reflect contemporary marine legislation. Minor technical and administrative amendments over time to both these laws have seen a slight divergence between the provisions within these laws.
For lake users, this creates potential conflicts and uncertainty when using our waterways, particularly for lake users who use Lake Burley Griffin, which is regulated by the commonwealth under the Lakes Ordinance. Then they might enter the Molonglo River or Kingston harbour, which are regulated by the territory under the Lakes Act.
I understand that the National Capital Authority, which administers the Lakes Ordinance, has been working with the ACT government on these legislative reforms and has agreed, subject to its legislative drafting process, to mirror the ACT legislation when passed to ensure a consistent approach across all ACT waterways. The minister has previously detailed some of the major reforms in relation to safety, navigation, compliance and enforcement, and I expect he might reiterate those today.
I would like to use my remaining time today to focus on other important reforms that will improve the operation and administration of the act, including reforms that will reduce the regulatory burden on lake users and on the issuing of approvals to undertake activities on our lakes.
The reforms reconcile ACT waters with commonwealth waters for ease of administration, particularly the interaction between Lake Burley Griffin and the intersecting ACT waters I previously mentioned: the Molonglo River and Kingston harbour. I will also discuss the new regulation-making provisions and proposed lakes regulation that will be developed to support the operation of the bill.
The new regulation-making power allows for offence provisions when setting out requirements related to safety equipment to be carried on a boat, qualifications of operators and detailed safety and navigation rules. Minor anomalies also exist both within the Lakes Act itself and between the Lakes Act and the commonwealth’s ordinance.
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