Page 4601 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 15 December 1993
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The result was that that particular piece of legislation was lost, and the Minister introduced a piece of subordinate legislation to provide for compulsory insulation in walls and floors. Had the Subordinate Laws (Amendment) Bill been enacted at that time, it would have given us the opportunity to move an amendment to vary that requirement so that the provision of insulation in ceilings could have been debated in this Assembly as well. It may well be that I would have lost that, but at least it would have provided, in a sensible way, the opportunity for members to be able to amend a piece of subordinate legislation. That is the purpose of this Subordinate Laws (Amendment) Bill 1993. I think it will provide for a situation where members will have more say in the actions of government as far as legislation goes.
There is a very good reason why regulations are referred to as subordinate laws. They are part and parcel of the impact of laws on people in the Territory, and for members to have the opportunity to modify them slightly is an appropriate way for us to deal with them. I think it was Mr Connolly who introduced an amendment to the Subordinate Laws Act that provided for the principle of disallowance. That was a very positive move, and it has been used on a number of occasions. But there are times when either we decide that we must move disallowance of the whole thing because of a small part of it or we move disallowance the other way around - we want to achieve a simple change, but we have to disallow the lot. This amendment will allow us simply to modify those regulations.
Debate (on motion by Mr Connolly) adjourned.
LONG SERVICE LEAVE (BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY) (AMENDMENT) BILL (NO. 2) 1993
MR DE DOMENICO (10.45): Madam Speaker, I present the Long Service Leave (Building and Construction Industry) (Amendment) Bill (No. 2) 1993.
Title read by Clerk.
MR DE DOMENICO: I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
The building industry long service leave scheme commenced in September 1981. Employers contribute to the scheme on behalf of their employees, and in some cases on their own behalf, at the current rate of 2.5 per cent of ordinary wages paid. The history of this saga goes back to November 1990, when Mr John Ford, from John Ford and Associates and a former Commonwealth Government Actuary, recommended a levy reduction to 1.5 per cent. His report said that the fund was overfunded by 125 per cent, or $12.3m. In January 1991 Mr Ford reviewed the finances of the Building and Construction Industry Long Service Leave Board, covering the three years to 30 June 1990, and once again recommended that the board should reduce the levy from 2.5 per cent to 1.25 per cent.
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