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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 1 Hansard (13 February) . . Page.. 53 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

New legislation will be introduced to facilitate the provision of telecommunications infrastructure to the ACT community and to support improvements in government procurement processes. The government is proposing to establish a government procurement board. The Government Procurement Bill will create a board with responsibility for the ongoing improvement of procurement practices and purchasing skills in government agencies. The board's foremost responsibility will be the establishment of a procurement accreditation system to govern purchasing activities and ensure that only officers with accredited skills and competencies perform major procurement activities and that these officers use agreed procedures.

Mr Speaker, of particular interest to members are the proposed amendments to the Superannuation (Legislative Assembly Members) Act 1991. In addition to some technical changes responding to federal laws, the amended legislation will provide the opportunity for members to better match their superannuation responsibilities and arrangements with their individual circumstances.

The Community Title Bill is another government priority for this year. It will provide for a form of subdivision that allows people to have separate ownership of a primary lease, while having a shared interest and responsibility over common land on adjacent crown lease. It will provide the security of ownership of a separate lease and grant flexibility in use of the land, and variations to the scheme are providing for a wider mix of land uses under one scheme.

The Territory Records Bill will provide a legislative framework for standards for the creation, management, protection and preservation of the records of the ACT government and for monitoring adherence to those standards.

The School Education Bill 2001 is an important part of the government's legislative program. This legislation is a government commitment to update and consolidate existing legislation in relation to schooling in the territory, presently provided under four separate acts, into a single effective act. This legislation has been developed through extensive community consultation and review by the Legislation Review Committee chaired by Professor Don Aitkin, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Canberra. The bill will not only consolidate and update existing law but will provide legislative support for flexible and innovative schooling and, most importantly, it covers both government and non-government sectors of schooling.

Since the handing over of responsibility for administration of the ACT Supreme Court in 1992 to the ACT body politic, appeals from the ACT Supreme Court have been heard by the Federal Court of Australia, a Commonwealth court. More than 10 years after self-government, it is inappropriate that appeals from the ACT Supreme Court continue to be heard by a non-ACT court. It is time to establish a new ACT appeals process and to do so the government proposes to legislate to establish a specially constituted bench of the Supreme Court. This legislation will, of course, be dependent on the passage of Commonwealth legislation but we expect this to be achieved during the first part of the year.

There have also been a number of recent Supreme Court decisions concerning restraining orders, which have highlighted deficiencies in the legislation relating to restraining orders. Legislation relating to these orders has been reviewed with a view

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