Page 3585 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 22 October 2013

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MR HANSON (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (11.48): I did make some comment about these amendments in my in-principle speech. These are the amendments that the Attorney-General insisted for a number of weeks were not required. He argued in the community, in the media, that there was no requirement for an amendment to this legislation because it was constitutionally valid without amendment, and then, four minutes before the deadline yesterday, we received these amendments, rushed through, and rushed through to the effect that they are not in order.

As I highlighted previously, in accordance with this Assembly’s standing orders, under standing order 182A, if the government is going to make amendments to its own legislation, it needs to go through the scrutiny of bills committee, unless there is a good reason for it not to. And the government has not even bothered in this place to pretend that there is any reason to do that.

This law, about which there is significant doubt as to whether it is lawful, now, clearly, is not in order. It gives me very little confidence that this process that has been followed by the government—certainly having regard to the standing orders—will result in a piece of legislation that will withstand the test that it is going to face in the High Court.

Amendments agreed to.

Bill, as a whole, as amended, agreed to.

Question put:

That this bill, as amended, be agreed to.

The Assembly voted—

Ayes 8

Noes 7

Mr Barr

Mr Corbell

Mr Coe

Mrs Jones

Ms Berry

Ms Gallagher

Mr Doszpot

Ms Lawder

Dr Bourke

Mr Gentleman

Mrs Dunne

Mr Smyth

Ms Burch

Mr Rattenbury

Mr Hanson

Question so resolved in the affirmative.

Bill, as amended, agreed to.

Sitting suspended from 11.53 to 2.30 pm.

Questions without notice

Alexander Maconochie Centre—capacity

MR HANSON: My question is to the Minister for Corrections. Minister, in answers to questions—I was just trying to build a bit of suspense there. I can sense it. Have you got it? Have you got the suspense?

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