Page 2854 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 19 September 2006

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .


to the present law relating to conveyancing but rather consolidates and simplifies the present provisions and places them in a more readily understandable and useable form. The bill therefore repeals and replaces the following five acts: the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act 1898, the Landlord and Tennant Act 1899, the Forfeiture and Validation of Leases Act 1905, the Conveyancing Act 1919 and the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1955.

The bill creates a single law that consolidates the provisions of the existing law. This meets the government’s objective of reducing fragmentation of laws and reducing unnecessary complexity in the laws. It reduces confusion and uncertainty as to which laws apply in the territory and as to what the law is. It eliminates redundant, irrelevant and inappropriate legislation adopted or made on a piecemeal and often uncritical basis. Finally, it reduces archaic language and rationalises drafting styles and techniques.

Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the officers of my colleague’s department for the work that they have done in compiling the amendments and also those officers who contributed to the amendment to the Electoral Act passed earlier today. I commend the Civil Law (Property) Bill 2005 to the Assembly.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.

Detail stage

Bill, by leave, taken as a whole.

MR HARGREAVES (Brindabella—Minister for the Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Housing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (11.35): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move amendments Nos 1 and 2.

Leave granted.

MR HARGREAVES: I move amendments Nos 1 and 2 circulated together [see schedule 3 at page 2908]. I table a supplementary explanation to those amendments.

As Mr Stefaniak indicated, these amendments are largely mechanical. The first amendment is a technical amendment to facilitate the relocation of section 62 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1955 to the Court Procedures Act 2004 and renumbers the existing sections to accommodate the addition of section 80A.

The second amendment relocates section 62 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1955 to the Court Procedures Act 2004 as new section 80A, which will become section 81 of the act after it is renumbered. This amendment will ensure that a court retains the longstanding and legal right to inquire into the truth of the matters set out in the return of a writ of habeas corpus where the writ required the production of a person in custody to be brought before the court for the purpose of examination or trial.

While the new court procedures rules set up a sensible process for dealing with habeas corpus applications, the government believes that it is necessary to retain section 62


Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .