Page 3815 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 4 December 2007

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The capital investment, whilst overdue, is a step in the right direction, but I think these measures will probably only go a very short way towards changing the level of uptake in terms of moving motorists onto public transport. I will confine my remarks to those points and talk in more detail when we discuss the bill.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Legal Affairs—Standing Committee

Scrutiny report 49

MR SESELJA (Molonglo): I present the following report:

Legal Affairs—Standing Committee (performing the duties of a Scrutiny of Bills and Subordinate Legislation Committee)—Scrutiny Report 49, dated 3 December 2007, together with the relevant minutes of proceedings.

I seek leave to make a brief statement.

Leave granted.

MR SESELJA: Scrutiny report 49 contains the committee’s comments on nine bills and 21 pieces of subordinate legislation. The report was circulated to members when the Assembly was not sitting. I commend the report to the Assembly.

Animal Diseases Amendment Bill 2007

Mr Stanhope, by leave, presented the bill, its explanatory statement and a Human Rights Act compatibility statement.

Title read by Clerk.

MR STANHOPE (Ginninderra—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Business and Economic Development, Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Minister for the Environment, Water and Climate Change, Minister for the Arts) (10.48): I move:

That this bill be agreed to in principle.

This bill proposes amendments to the Animal Diseases Act 2005. As part of the management of the current outbreak of equine influenza in eastern Australia, it has become apparent that the Animal Diseases Act in its current form overly limits the range of personnel available to perform functions required to manage the enforcement of quarantine arrangements. While the ACT is currently free of the equine influenza virus, should an outbreak of the virus occur in the ACT, this limitation could present a real constraint on the management of the outbreak.

The government proposes to address these operational constraints by making two minor amendments to the principal act. The first amendment would allow the Director of Animal Hygiene, commonly referred to as the chief vet, to delegate his powers not


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