Page 1278 - Week 04 - Thursday, 11 May 2023
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set for a life sentence transferred parolee if the parolee reoffends and receives a further sentence of imprisonment. The amendments will cover current and future cases where interstate life sentenced parolees come before the ACT courts in relation to new offences.
The amendments help to integrate interstate parole orders into ACT law in situations where there is no equivalent order and enable the ACT system to manage breaches of the order coherently in the context of ACT sentencing law. This, of course, does not guarantee parole for these offenders. Their applications will need to be considered by the Sentence Administration Board and are subject to the same requirements of the Crimes (Sentence Administration) Act as any other application for parole.
This bill makes amendments to the Gaming Machine Act to extend the time licensees of a gaming facility can redeem offsets granted under the Pathway to 4000 scheme. In 2018 the government inserted part 2A into the Gaming Machine Act, providing that a licensee of a gaming facility could voluntarily surrender gaming machine authorisations in exchange for a land, lease or planning and development charge offset. The offsets were intended to support gaming machine licensees to reduce their reliance on gaming machine revenue and diversify towards new revenue streams. However, the uncertainty and financial downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic prevented licensees from undertaking planned development and redeeming these offsets for a period of two years.
Currently, licensees must redeem these offsets by 1 April 2026. This amendment will extend this time frame to 1 April 2028, allowing licensees to access these offsets until 1 April 2028. This amendment will remove barriers to licensees of gaming facilities diversifying away from gaming machine revenue, and therefore supports economic diversity in the territory.
Finally, the bill amends the Land Titles (Unit Titles) Act relating to the registration of final building damage orders and administration orders. In 2012 the Unit Titles (Management) Act came into effect, appointing the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal as the body responsible for the making of final building damage orders and administration orders. Prior to this, the Magistrates Court was responsible for making final building damage orders. However, corresponding amendments to the Land Titles (Unit Titles) Act were not made. As a consequence, there is legislative inconsistency between the two acts, with the registrar-general presently required to register final building damage orders and administration orders made by the Magistrates Court, not the ACAT.
This inconsistency may cause confusion for the Land Titles Office and people seeking to register final building damage orders and administration orders. This is an uncontroversial but important amendment that will promote trust in the ACT government and institutions and ensure the efficient operation of ACT laws.
I am pleased to say that the bill being introduced today is a human rights compliant bill, and one which improves the operation and effective administration of the laws in the territory. I commend the bill to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Cain) adjourned to the next sitting.
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