Page 1547 - Week 06 - Thursday, 2 July 2020
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Clauses 10 to 23, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 24.
MR COE (Yerrabi—Leader of the Opposition) (5.03): I move amendment No 2 circulated in my name [see schedule 2 at page 1577]. This is simply a clarifying amendment. We are proposing that the first and last name of the individual who authorised the matter should be included, as opposed to the full name. This amendment maintains the intent of the legislation to improve transparency and accountability. The inclusion of a person’s full name is potentially problematic, as it could be construed to include a person’s middle name as well.
Amendment agreed to.
Clause 24, as amended, agreed to.
Clauses 25 and 26, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Proposed new clauses 26A and 26B.
MR COE (Yerrabi—Leader of the Opposition) (5.04): I move amendment No 3 circulated in my name, which inserts proposed new clauses 26A and 26B [see schedule 2 at page 1577]. This is another practical amendment to the new authorisation provisions. This inserts a defence to using material without the new requirement of a full first and last name of the authorised individual if the material was prepared before the commencement of this act. The authorisation would need to include the initial of the authorising individual’s first name and the individual’s full last name, as is common practice already.
We have specifically included that the individual’s full last name needs to be included. The Attorney-General noted in his presentation speech that simple initials are not sufficient for an authorisation. We agree. The defendant bears the evidentiary burden and would need to show proof that the items were prepared—for example, ordered or printed—prior to commencement, if challenged. This defence would expire six months after the October 2020 election. This would allow existing inventory of material that was ordered or printed before the commencement of this act and that complied with the current authorisation norms to continue to be used until depleted. Items such as banners, letterhead, flyers et cetera would otherwise have to be disposed of, creating significant waste. This amendment is reasonable and practical.
I know that there is a minor typographical error in the drafting of the expiry clause, which we were recently made aware of by the PCO. I thank them for alerting us to this. The new section 2.92(3) should read:
This section and subsection (1A) expire 6 months after the day the general election, due to be held in October 2020, happens.
I understand that the Clerk has the power, under standing order 191, to rectify this oversight without the need to recirculate the amendments.
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