Page 547 - Week 02 - Thursday, 17 February 2005
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under permits at ACT Tourism events would be limited to a price cap of $15,000 of total sales during each financial year. Similarly, non-profit organisations that purchase wine for sale under permits for fundraising activities would be limited to a price cap of $10,000 for the total purchase price of the wine sold during each financial year.
The bill inserts a new definition of Australian diplomatic or consular representative in section 11 of the Oaths and Affirmations Act that broadens the class of people who can administer an oath or affirmation outside of the ACT to include employees of the commonwealth and employees of the Australian Trade Commission. This is consistent with the definition in the Commonwealth Consular Fees Act 1955. I commend the Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2005 to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Stefaniak) adjourned to next sitting.
Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2005
Mr Stanhope, pursuant to notice, presented the bill, its explanatory statement and a Human Rights Act compatibility statement.
Title read by Clerk.
MR STANHOPE (Ginninderra—Chief Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Environment and Minister for Arts, Heritage and Indigenous Affairs) (10.45): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2005 makes a number of important changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1997. The amendments are the result of a review of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 undertaken by my department. The review process identified widespread satisfaction with the existing legislation, although a number of areas were identified where change was desirable. A number of major reforms were made to the act last year as a result of the review. This bill contains the final stage of reforms to the act.
One of the major reforms contained in the bill is in regard to the termination of residential tenancy agreements by prescribed crisis accommodation providers. Crisis accommodation sits uneasily in the act at present because service providers wish to impose a condition on a tenancy to the effect that it is conditional on the tenant continuing to use a particular service or on a comparative assessment of needs of others in the community for the service. The effect of this condition is that a tenant may be evicted—for example, if they no longer require therapy—with four weeks notice. To include such a provision in a residential tenancies agreement currently the provider must seek endorsement of the condition on a case-by-case basis by the Residential Tenancies Tribunal.
The bill provides for the minister to declare crisis accommodation providers only if they provide emergency accommodation for people in crisis and if they provide information to people in the accommodation about alternative accommodation and services. The bill provides that declared accommodation providers can terminate a tenancy with four weeks notice if the premises are needed for crisis accommodation for someone other than
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