Page 799 - Week 03 - Thursday, 2 April 2020
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create recordings of evidence from all witnesses, including defence witnesses. This evidence may then be presented in court when the proceedings resume.
The purpose of this change is to allow evidence to be captured when witnesses’ memories are fresh, in the event that proceedings are adjourned or delayed due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. In all of the circumstances, I am certainly satisfied that these amendments advance the right to be tried without unreasonable delay.
In relation to the Residential Tenancies Act, the amendments are crucial due to the risk of homelessness for people who are affected by job losses and other COVID-19 related financial losses. They arise out of the national cabinet. I note that the discussions and considerations of national cabinet, while advanced, and while they have indicated some of the key principles and steps, are not yet complete. The amendments will enable me, as minister, to make a declaration prohibiting the termination of a residential tenancy agreement or an occupancy agreement; prohibiting the recovery of possession of premises; limiting or preventing the exercise or enforcement; limiting property inspections, tenancy database listings and non-essential repairs to a property; and modifying a provision to allow parties to agree to temporary rent or fee reductions.
The measures will apply to private and public housing tenants alike where that person has been affected by job losses and other COVID-19 related factors, to give them the best possible opportunity to sustain tenancies during this emergency declaration. I note for the Assembly that the power to implement these measures will be enabled through a disallowable instrument, not a notifiable instrument.
On that point, I want to respond to the concern that Mr Coe raised about the scattering of notifiable instruments throughout the bill—that it would be more appropriate for them to be disallowable instruments, to enable a sense of transparency, and checking whether the Assembly itself wished to disallow them. When it comes to the issue of notifiable or disallowable instruments in the bill, I point out that the bill mentions notifiable instruments eight times, and four of those times are in notes. The others primarily relate potentially to later action under an act. There are, however, 26 references in the bill to disallowable instruments, and that is precisely for the reason that Mr Coe raised—that it is more appropriate in the circumstances, with the powers that are considered under this bill, for them to be done by way of disallowable instrument rather than notifiable instrument. The matters of transparency have been very carefully considered in the drafting of this legislation.
Finally, I want to place on record my thanks to the members of my staffing team who have worked determinedly to coordinate this work across government. More specifically, I want to acknowledge the hardworking members of the ACT public service across many directorates. I want to place on record my enormous thanks to the members of the JACS Directorate who have led the coordination work across government. I thank the incredibly knowledgeable and dedicated team at the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office, led by Mary Toohey. They have worked under great pressure and for very long hours to ensure that the good workings of government and the vital operations for the people of Canberra can continue through this very difficult time. We are all indebted to them for their work. I commend the bill to the Assembly.
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