Page 3963 - Week 11 - Thursday, 26 September 2019
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Proposed new clause 102A agreed to.
Clauses 103 to 121, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 122.
MR STEEL (Murrumbidgee—Minister for City Services, Minister for Community Services and Facilities, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Roads) (12.04): I move amendment No 11 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page 4004]. Amendment 11 proposes a new section 106C that clarifies this section. The section applies to a person accompanied by an assistance animal as well as an assistance animal in training or an animal being assessed as an assistance animal. This ensures protection of assistance animals in training and makes the laws across the ACT consistent.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 122, as amended, agreed to.
Clauses 123 to 132, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Proposed new parts 9 to 11 (new clauses 133 to 140).
MR STEEL (Murrumbidgee—Minister for City Services, Minister for Community Services and Facilities, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Roads) (12.05): I move amendment No 12 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page 4005], which inserts new parts 9 to 11 (new clauses 133 to 140).
These government amendments make minor consequential changes to the ACT’s Major Events Act, Nature Conservation Act and Public Pools Act to bring existing legislation in the ACT in line with the bill and the ACT and commonwealth discrimination laws. It is important that this is done to pave the way for the commencement of the new assistance animal framework in six months time to ensure that our laws are consistent across the statute books and access rights are clear to everyone.
Before the new assistance animal scheme comes into effect, we will work closely with stakeholders in our community and across government to ensure that the new scheme is easy to administer, clear and consistent, and not only promotes the rights of people with a disability that rely on an assistance animal but also provides them with improved identification and protections under the law.
This is the last opportunity that I will have to speak. I would like to thank Transport Canberra and City Services officials for their work on this piece of legislation over a long period of time. I particularly thank Lisa Johnson and Kirra Cox for their work. I also thank members of the community and organisations that contributed to the consultations throughout the course of the exposure draft consultation and during the bill debate.
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