Page 3169 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 18 August 2009
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office today was put out by mistake and in error and that her office did not mean to put it out before I had tabled this report today.
I thank Ms Le Couteur and Mr Coe for their work on the committee’s inquiry into this interesting but concerning issue of illegal bill posting. I also thank Nicola Derigo, the committee secretary, and the secretariat office for all of their hard work that went into the conduct of this inquiry, and also the witnesses and people who submitted to the inquiry.
MS LE COUTEUR (Molonglo) (10.18): I would like to elaborate on my comments in my dissenting report on this issue. Firstly, however, I would like thank the committee secretariat, in particular Nicola Derigo, and my fellow committee members, Ms Porter and Mr Coe. I remember Mr Stanhope saying at the time of referral that he regretted the matter going to committee because extending the criminal offences for bill posting was in fact a straightforward and simple matter.
Mrs Dunne: Of course it is.
MS LE COUTEUR Well, of course, yes. However, the committee has agreed on a number of recommendations to improve the bill. They include the need to provide better information to the community, to consult prior to the introduction of legislation and the need for more legal bill posting space. I think it is clear from reading both my report and the majority report that the issues arising from the bill are not really straightforward and simple.
While I agree with the committee majority’s recommendations, I regret that it did not more closely examine the human rights implications of the bill or the technical aspects of the legislation and how they might apply in practice. But I do wish to be constructive; so my dissenting comments include recommendations for amending the bill to allay these concerns.
Bill posting, as well as other uses of public space by citizens such as graffiti or public protest, is often criticised for being ugly or disorderly and it has always been closely associated with social and political change. Posters have traditionally been used by minority groups to publicise new ideas or causes. They have often been used to spread political, revolutionary or unpopular ideas. Maybe that is one of the reasons why governments tend to be so happy to squash this practice. However, we need to remember that already the voices of the disadvantaged or the unorthodox often go unheard in our society.
Bill posting can be regarded as an economic crime. If you are able or willing to pay, there are many legal bill posting avenues available. I particularly think of the new bus shelters which are being installed by a private company in busy parts of Canberra in return for the right to advertise on them. That is a form of legal bill posting, in my opinion.
Freedom of expression is a right that has an extremely high value. As legislators we need to take the utmost care when we move to limit this right. That is one of the reasons why I and the Greens have so many concerns about this bill. It is seeking to further restrict freedom of expression. I must stress that my comments are not because
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