Page 4609 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 15 December 1993
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DISCHARGE OF ORDER OF THE DAY
MR STEVENSON (11.12): In accordance with standing order 152, I move:
That order of the day No. 1, private members business, relating to the Voice of the Electorate Bill 1993, be discharged from the Notice Paper.
Madam Speaker, I take this action as a result of the fine work done by the Scrutiny of Bills Committee. The committee was good enough to go through the VOTE Bill clause by clause. I certainly understand how much time that would have taken. I thank the members of the committee - Mrs Grassby, Mr Humphries and Ms Szuty - and, of course, Professor Whalan, for the job they took on. After this matter is discharged, with the agreement of members, I will move to introduce an amended Voice of the Electorate Bill which covers the matters raised by the Scrutiny of Bills Committee.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
VOICE OF THE ELECTORATE BILL 1993 [NO. 2]
MR STEVENSON (11.14): I present the Voice of the Electorate Bill 1993 [No. 2].
Title read by Clerk.
MR STEVENSON: I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
As a result of the first VOTE Bill being introduced on 13 October this year there has been a pleasing level of public debate. I should mention that this amended Bill in no way changes the various matters I raised in my speech on 13 October. I know that Canberrans will be encouraged by the in-principle agreement to the right of citizens to have a binding say on legislation that most members of the Assembly have agreed to. Because of the detailed nature of the suggestions made by the Scrutiny of Bills Committee, along with some valuable advice from legal people, I have made quite a number of changes in the Bill that I now table, although none of them change the principles that were in the Bill tabled on 13 October. I trust that this Bill is now even easier to read than the first one. Perhaps, when members are having a break - - -
Ms Ellis: It is thinner.
MR STEVENSON: It is thinner, yes. When members are having a break during the Christmas period, when they are on a beach with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in their hand, they might like to read the Bill. I commend the Bill to the house.
Debate (on motion by Ms Follett) adjourned.
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