Page 4734 - Week 15 - Thursday, 16 December 1993
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In Australia there have been several attempts to enact a Federal Bill of Rights but none have yet succeeded. Several States, and now the Australian Capital Territory, are beginning to look at the issues involved, with a view to enacting their own. In Queensland the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission has recently recommended the adoption of a Queensland Bill of Rights. The South Australian Government - or the former South Australian Government - has been considering the possibility of a Bill of Rights, and Victoria, under a previous government, also carried out such a review. In other countries these developments at a State and provincial level preceded moves towards a national Bill of Rights, and the same may yet prove true of Australia. An ACT Bill of Rights would form a part of the comprehensive human rights package already existing in this Territory. It would give guidance to future legislators by giving them a set of standards against which to measure proposed laws. It could also give citizens a right to challenge laws which infringe their basic rights.
This issues paper does not represent Government policy. It is intended to raise issues for discussion and comment. It examines Bills of Rights in other countries and the effect a Bill of Rights could have in the ACT. I believe that the debate about whether the ACT should enact a Bill of Rights or not is both important and timely. If the people of this Territory decide that they want a Bill of Rights following informed debate, it is likely to enjoy a high degree of legitimacy in the community. If, on the other hand, they do not, they will know more about the human rights protection they already enjoy and will have made an informed decision to retain the status quo. This very comprehensive paper is the best single volume summary of the state of law in relation to human rights in the ACT. Members, even if they are not interested in a Bill of Rights, will find it a useful reference for what the law is on a range of human rights areas in the ACT. Mr Deputy Speaker, these issues and others are canvassed in the issues paper, and I look forward to hearing from members of the Assembly and the ACT community.
Debate (on motion by Mr Humphries) adjourned.
SURROGACY AGREEMENTS
Discussion Paper
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (3.15): Mr Deputy Speaker, for the information of members, I present a discussion paper entitled Surrogacy Agreements in the ACT and move:
That the Assembly takes note of the paper.
Mr Deputy Speaker, this discussion paper, Surrogacy Agreements in the ACT, outlines proposed legislation relating to the making of agreements under which a woman agrees to bear a child for someone else. The paper is intended to generate community discussion and establish an approach which has broad community acceptance. The proposal is that the state disapproves of surrogacy arrangements; the state should not punish surrogacy agreements by themselves -
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