Page 1001 - Week 03 - Thursday, 21 March 2019
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The availability of legal services to all people in the ACT community is critical to ensuring an effective and fair justice system. The bill introduces an amendment to the Legal Aid Act which enables the Legal Aid Commission to make family dispute resolution more readily available. Alternative dispute resolution is generally more timely, amicable and cost efficient than proceeding to trial. The commission’s 2016-17 annual report found that 76 per cent of family dispute resolution conferences had a successful outcome.
This bill will help even more people in the community to get help without enduring the cost of litigation. It will especially help middle income earners avoid unnecessary legal action and reduce their costs in family disputes, which in turn reduces reliance on other social services. This amendment brings the territory into line with other jurisdictions such as New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. It reflects the government’s ongoing commitment to supporting access to justice for all members of our community.
Among the other amendments in the bill are provisions that will improve the regulation of the legal profession by updating the requirements for practising certificates and withdrawals of trust account moneys by solicitors, enhancing public safety by clarifying the obligations of building occupiers to maintain fire appliances, increasing the number of Indigenous representatives on the Victims Advisory Board, making it simpler for parties who reach agreement during reconciliation of complaints before the Human Rights Commission to enforce those agreements through the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal and updating the oaths and affirmations in the Notaries Public Act, in line with modern text, as recently uniformly updated in other territory legislation.
The bill being introduced today is a human rights compatible bill that improves the operation of our laws and increases the availability of services in our community. These improvements are a result of the government listening to and working with the community to deliver legislation that is accessible, transparent and timely.
I commend the bill to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Hanson) adjourned to the next sitting.
Leave for members
MS J BURCH (Brindabella) (4.27): I move:
That standing order 22, relating to leave of absence for Members be amended by adding the following words:
“Except that a Member who is pregnant shall be entitled, without a vote of the Assembly, to 18 weeks maternity leave of absence, and that leave shall commence at a time notified by the Member to the Speaker.”
What we are looking at here is a change to standing order 22, which relates to leave of absence for members. The amendment is about a member who is pregnant being able
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