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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 7 Hansard (24 June) . . Page.. 1980 ..
Report and Statement by Chair
MR WOOD: Mr Speaker, I present Report No. 7 of 1997 of the Standing Committee on Scrutiny of Bills and Subordinate Legislation, and I ask for leave to make a brief statement on that report.
Leave granted.
MR WOOD: Mr Speaker, among other matters, the report comments on the Traffic (Amendment) Bill 1997 and draws the Assembly's attention to a number of clauses which require that medical professionals must carry out certain actions, in this case imposing a duty to intrude on the body of their patient at the time. If the professional fails to do so, he or she commits an offence and is liable to a penalty. The committee asks the Assembly to consider whether these clauses do not unduly trespass on personal rights and liberties. That last phrase is from the committee's terms of reference. That is precisely the term of reference that Mr Moore referred to in a debate on another amendment to the Traffic Act last week. Mr Moore believed that restriction on the ability to go to court and various other facts might well be an undue trespass on personal rights and liberties. I indicated to Mr Moore then that the committee would consider his comments, and it did so this morning. I might confirm with Mr Moore that we examined that matter quite carefully and we noted his argument.
The Scrutiny of Bills Committee is very conscious of that term of reference to which he referred and which is part of this report today. We do take great note of the rights and liberties of citizens. It is sometimes a difficult matter to determine. I suppose, to put it in simple terms, that the answer to Mr Moore's query is that matters raised sometimes fall over that dividing line and at other times do not quite cross that line. I must say to Mr Moore that in this case that is the answer we give to him. The committee has considered that the matter referred to ought to be referred to the Assembly for its consideration, should any member wish to raise it. We acknowledge the seriousness of Mr Moore's comments the other day. Ultimately, of course, all these questions are for the Assembly to determine. We appreciate Mr Moore's scrutiny of these Bills as much as we take care of our own.
Statement by Chair
MR HIRD: Pursuant to standing order 246A, I make the following statement in relation to the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Tourism's visit to New Zealand. The statement follows a visit by my colleague Mr Simon Corbell and me to Christchurch, New Zealand, from 20 to 24 April this year. The third member of the committee, Mr Osborne, was unable to attend due to family reasons. The statement was adopted by members on Monday, 23 June this year. Attached to this statement is a full schedule of the committee's meetings in Christchurch.
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