Page 1944 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 15 June 1994
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expiation notice. However, in my discussions with the Attorney-General I indicated that if he wished to come up with an amendment that would exempt growing for those reasons, in terms of police discretion - where a police officer believes that the plants are grown not for personal use but for some form of sale - the police officer could charge somebody and the court would then determine whether that was the case or not. On that issue, I must say that, although I would like to see the network separated, I believe that it is not necessary to do so. I would certainly be open-minded about accepting an amendment along those lines.
Another issue that I think is worth dealing with is the argument that, by using this system, we breach our international treaties. It is worth referring members to a letter from the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Gareth Evans, to the Hon. Alannah MacTiernan, MLC, in Western Australia. The Minister advised that the Federal Government had taken the view that the provisions of article 3(4)(d) of the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances accommodated the arrangements for personal use of marijuana that are made in South Australia - and now the Australian Capital Territory. Article 3(4)(d) of the convention reads in part:
The parties may provide ... as an alternative to conviction or punishment ... measures for the treatment, education, after care, rehabilitation or social reintegration of the offender.
I believe that there are no grounds for that suggestion. It has been considered carefully and it is not the case. The amendments I propose today are simply to remove some anomalies in the expiation notice system this Assembly adopted a couple of years ago, and I commend the Bill to the house.
Debate (on motion by Mr Connolly) adjourned.
STATUTORY APPOINTMENTS BILL 1994
Detail Stage
Clause 1
Debate resumed from 18 May 1994.
MR MOORE (11.16): Madam Speaker, there has been some debate over this Bill and at this stage I think it is appropriate for me to say that the discussion between me, Mr Humphries and Mr Connolly has been quite fruitful. As a result of that discussion, I agreed to have a further amendment drawn to exempt public servants from the operation of this Bill. The original intention of the Bill was clearly to deal with appointments, particularly to boards, statutory authorities and places such as that, so that the legislature was aware of what the Government was doing and had the power to disallow.
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