Page 4991 - Week 13 - Thursday, 12 November 2009

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ACAT act provides that a new party can only be joined to a proceeding if they have an interest in the proceeding and, in the case of an appeal, that the new party was a party to the original proceeding.

The Agents Act 2003 is amended to allow certain real estate agents an exemption, which can carry conditions, from keeping a trust account if they do not receive or hold trust money. The exemption ends if the agent receives or holds trust money. This is a sensible amendment, because there are circumstances in which a licensed agent may not receive or hold trust moneys, and it seems nonsensical where an agent is in such a situation to be required to open and maintain an empty trust account.

There are amendments that deal with the territory’s regulated cap on interest rates, currently 48 per cent per year, on credit contracts. There was agreement between the states, territories and the commonwealth that the commonwealth will take the consumer credit regulation powers back to itself, but the process is ongoing and it is necessary for the territory to retain its interest cap until the commonwealth takes over that function. The powers are transferred in this act from the Consumer Credit Act to the Fair Trading Act.

The Court Procedures Act 2004 is amended to clarify the power of security officers to require everyone entering court to undergo security screening. Certain conditions apply—for example, that the officers believe on reasonable grounds that the screening is prudent for court security. The scrutiny of bills committee considered this engages the right to privacy under the Human Rights Act and calls for a more detailed justification. I do note that the minister has written to the scrutiny of bills committee on this matter outlining that this is a clarification of the words and that the intent has always been as it now appears in the legislation. The aim is to ensure that we have a properly functioning justice system by ensuring that the courts operate in a calm and secure environment.

These are the most substantive amendments to be included in the bill, but there are numerous others which are minor in nature. Together they are sensible amendments, and the Canberra Liberal opposition is pleased to support them. I would say, in closing, that it is good to see that the Attorney-General has finally taken in the message that I gave in relation to the two previous JACS omnibus bills dealt with last year. That message was that omnibus legislation should not be used to introduce major policy changes or otherwise deal with substantial matters. This bill does not seek to make amendments of this kind, and it is a positive step forward for a slow-learning Stanhope government.

MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (4.08): The Greens will be supporting this bill today, and I would like to make a few brief comments with regard to the detail of the legislation. This is a bill that has come about because the government has listened to the expertise of the ACT public service, which has made sensible recommendations about how to improve the ACT’s existing legislation. For the vast majority of the changes, the case for legislative amendment is well set out in the explanatory statement. Many of the changes are required to update cross-references that have been previously amended or updated. Despite how hard any team of policy officers and parliamentary counsel work, there will still inevitably be unforeseen cross-references


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