Page 1863 - Week 09 - Thursday, 19 October 1989
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(4) the committee shall consist of three members;
(5) the majority of members constitute a quorum of the committee;
(6) the committee be provided with the necessary additional staff, facilities and resources; and
(7) the foregoing provisions of the resolution, so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders, have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders.
Mr Speaker, this motion proposes the formation of a Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on the Scrutiny of Bills and Subordinate Legislation. The Government has long recognised the need for an Assembly committee with the charter to examine delegated legislation and Bills introduced into the Assembly. In August I wrote to all the party leaders and the Speaker, providing a discussion paper on the role of Assembly committees.
Recognising the rather ad hoc development of the present committee structure, the paper sought to present a coherent philosophy for a strong and relevant committee system. As part of this overall examination, the paper proposed a legal affairs committee to deal with delegated legislation, Bills scrutiny and matters of legal policy.
Mr Speaker, you responded to this discussion paper earlier this month. In your paper you supported, as part of your suggestions for a general reorganisation of the Assembly standing committees, the need for a legal affairs committee as proposed by the Government. You saw a role for this committee in examining delegated legislation and Assembly Bills and in matters of legal policy.
Due to an immediate need for a Scrutiny of Bills and Subordinate Legislation Committee, I am proposing the formation of this committee on an interim basis pending Government consideration of suggestions for a broad re-organisation of standing committees.
The terms of reference for the proposed committee are based on those which apply to parliamentary committees formed for these purposes in the Commonwealth and the States. The terms of reference as they relate to subordinate laws will enable the Assembly to maintain a general oversight of the Government's subordinate law-making power and thereby play an important role in the protection of the civil rights of the residents of the ACT.
The terms of reference, as they relate to Bills of the Assembly, will enable the Assembly to examine effectively all matters relating to rights and liberties in legislation. Such matters as reversal of the onus of proof, retrospectivity and self-incrimination will fall within the committee's charter.
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