Page 552 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 20 March 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Mr Speaker, I commend this draft Bill and welcome any comments that members may have on it.
LAW REFORM PROGRAM
Ministerial Statement and Paper
MR COLLAERY (Attorney-General), by leave: Mr Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to announce the establishment of an ACT law reform program. This Alliance initiative will ensure a coherent and structured approach to the processes of ACT law reform. This is an important and long overdue step for the Territory.
The history of law reform in the ACT has been unimpressive. It has seen the citizens of the Territory either ignored or treated as guineapigs. The ACT has been used as a test tube to try out new legislation while the basic infrastructure of the law has been left in disarray. There have been a number of attempts to establish a law review process in the ACT. None has succeeded. Despite good intentions, our laws are in a sorry state. In particular areas there are no laws at all; in other areas laws overlap haphazardly.
You do not need to look far to see the symptoms of the problem. Certain laws constantly need to be amended to try to get them into shape. Many laws embody archaic principles and language and this makes it difficult for the ordinary person to understand the laws that they are expected to comply with. These problems cannot be cleared up overnight. They are symptomatic of decades of disregard.
There were early attempts to establish an ACT Law Reform Commission under the chairmanship of the late Mr Justice Blackburn in the 1970s. Although a number of detailed proposals for reform were made in the areas of commercial law and leases, much of that body's work has never seen the light of day. Similarly, in recent years the Australian Law Reform Commission has undertaken some reform work on ACT law. Several major reforms have been made, but even that body's efforts have barely scratched the surface of the problem. Thus, on self-government day the ACT inherited a great deal of out-of-date legislation that requires reappraisal of both its language and its principles.
There is a clear need for an effective and integrated law reform program for the ACT. Section 37 of the ACT (Self-Government) Act requires the ACT Executive to maintain the laws of the Territory. By setting up an effective law reform program the Alliance Government will ensure that ACT law is systematically and rigorously reviewed and tested for public relevance.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .