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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 11 Hansard (5 November) . . Page.. 3593 ..

MR MOORE (10.37): I present the Administration (Interstate Agreements) Bill 1997, together with its explanatory memorandum.

Title read by Clerk.

MR MOORE: I move:

That this Bill be agreed to in principle.

Mr Speaker, this legislation is about cooperative government. It is about reforming the way we operate. It is yet another concrete move in the approach that this Assembly has taken over some years to become more open and to ensure that what we do is an appropriate balance between the power of the parliament and the power of the Executive. Mr Speaker, this is a novel Bill. The debate is open and, I must say, I will expect amendments. Indeed, I invite amendments. I extend that invitation to do so.

Mr Speaker, I also make it very clear to members that this Bill has been privately drafted. It has not been through Parliamentary Counsel. I will be referring it to Parliamentary Counsel. As we are all aware, Parliamentary Counsel have been very busy over the last little while. I would not have had the opportunity to table this legislation and have it back in time to have it debated by the end of this year. When members see the legislation they may well find that they will be quite interested in doing so. Because of that I shall refer it to Parliamentary Counsel so that they can suggest amendments should they so wish.

It is unusual legislation, Mr Speaker, which, like the Statutory Appointments Act and the Subordinate Laws Act, which we amended in 1993, will ensure that the Assembly is able to perform as a legislature of high quality. There were those who claimed when those Acts went through that it would be the end of civilisation as we know it, or words to that effect. Mr Speaker, that has not been the result. The result of those Acts is that they have become part and parcel of the way we work. I think the debate yesterday on the amendment to the Statutory Appointments Act indicated that this Assembly is prepared to continue to work in a positive way in dealing with such issues.

This Bill, Mr Speaker, like the Acts I mentioned, ensures that oversight of the actions of the Executive operates at an empowered level, but the Executive can still do its task. The Bill also aims to ensure that the actions of the Executive do not constrain the freedom of the Assembly to deliberate on legislation without undue constraint. It ensures that, although a constraint must not apply in one way, it must also not apply in the other way. Mr Speaker, the Bill operates at the level of information and consultation. It puts on Ministers a duty to inform and to consult. Actual legal constraint on the actions which the Executive may take is kept to the minimum necessary to give effect to the aims of the Bill.

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