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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 1 Hansard (28 April) . . Page.. 37 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General, Minister for Justice and Community Safety and Minister Assisting the Treasurer) (11.40): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move a motion concerning the days of meeting of the Assembly for 1998.

Leave granted.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, I move:

That, unless the Speaker fixes an alternative day or hour of meeting on receipt of a request in writing from an absolute majority of Members, or the Assembly otherwise orders, the Assembly shall meet as follows for 1998:

April 29 30

May 19 20 21

26 27 28

June 23 24 25

August 25 26 27

September 1 2 3

22 23 24

October 27 28 29

November 17 18 19

24 25 26

December 8 9 10

The motion proposes a sitting pattern which has obviously been tempered by the election held in February. It provides for the usual gap between sittings in the autumn and sittings in the spring. It also provides for a gap of approximately a month between the September and October sittings, when members, if they desire, may work through a committee of the Assembly to scrutinise annual reports produced by government before that point.

Mr Speaker, there has been negotiation on this pattern. I believe it represents a reasonable workload for the Assembly throughout the year. Obviously, it comes with the proviso that if for some reason the Assembly finds that its volume of work exceeds the available days in which to deal with that work it can consider a motion for extra sitting days or an absolute majority of members may petition you as Speaker to allocate extra days. I commend the motion to the Assembly.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

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