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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 11 Hansard (9 December) . . Page.. 3420 ..

MR OSBORNE (continuing):

Members will recall that the context for this Bill involved the recent successful appeal to the Supreme Court by Woolworths at Dickson against a finding which had been made by the Liquor Licensing Board. The dismissal of that finding by the court judge has provided any future defendants with an easy defence, thus making the Liquor Act completely ineffective. This Bill will close that loophole and make it an offence for licensees to sell alcohol to an under-age person. It will still be necessary, as with any offence, to prove to the satisfaction of the board or the court that there was an element of intent and that the offence actually took place.

What this Bill will not do is allow the defendant simply to assert that he or she is not liable for the neglect of his or her employees in such a serious case.

Mr Speaker, I will accept the amendment from Mr Humphries, which tidies up the Bill, but I will not accept the amendment to be moved by Mr Quinlan, which just returns the position to what it is now. I thank members for their support.

Question put:

That this Bill be agreed to in principle.

The Assembly voted -

AYES, 8		 NOES, 5

Ms Carnell	Mr Berry
Mr Cornwell	Mr Corbell
Mr Humphries	Mr Hargreaves
Mr Kaine	Mr Quinlan
Mr Moore	Ms Tucker
Mr Osborne
Mr Rugendyke
Mr Smyth

Bill, by leave, taken as a whole

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General, Minister for Justice and Community Safety and Minister Assisting the Treasurer) (6.52): I move:

Page 1, line 11, clause 4, omit `subsection (3)', substitute `from subsection (3) all the words after `person' (first occurring)'.

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