Page 1669 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 3 May 2011

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reforms are flawed and they are unjust. That is why the Assembly is voting against them today.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 2, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 3 agreed to.

Schedule 1.

Parts 1.1 and 1.2, amendments 1.1 to 1.6, by leave, taken together.

MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (10.39): by leave: I move amendments Nos 2 and 3 circulated in my name together [see schedule 1 at page 1729].

These amendments omit amendments 1.1 to 1.6 from schedule 1 to the bill. These amendments anticipate a range of other amendments which I have foreshadowed. The purpose of these amendments, if passed, is to obviate the need to redefine indictable offences as contemplated in the bill. There are a number of other amendments later which will do the same thing. I commend the amendments to the Assembly.

MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (10.39): The Greens will be supporting these amendments as they remove consequential amendments proposed by the government that have been rendered unnecessary now that the government’s proposal will not be implemented.

Amendments agreed to.

Parts 1.1 and 1.2, amendments 1.1 to 1.6, as amended, agreed to.

Part 1.3, amendments 1.7 to 1.9, by leave, taken together.

MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (10.40): I move amendment No 4 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page 1729].

This amendment, like the previous amendments, anticipates essentially amendment No 9 which is coming up a little later, which is the main amendment. If passed, this amendment does two things. First, it obviates the need to redefine indictable offence as contemplated in the bill and, secondly, it amends the definition of serious offence for the purposes of the Bail Act 1992.

The amended definition will exclude from the definition of serious offences those offences for which an election is made for summary disposal under section 374. This is a consequential amendment which was drawn to my attention by members of the Criminal Law Group in the ACT Law Society.

The way the Bail Act currently operates means that there is lesser scope for deciding in favour of bail for someone who is being charged with a serious offence—that is,


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