Page 4391 - Week 14 - Thursday, 28 November 2013

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This bill will mean that, in the territory, the way a person identifies their own sex or gender can be reflected without difficulty in legal documents. Our community includes people whose identity goes beyond the binary concepts of male and female. This bill will ensure that our legal system for recognising identity respects and acknowledges everyone in our community. On behalf of the Attorney-General, I commend this bill to the Assembly.

An incident having occurred in the gallery—

MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! People in the gallery, please sit down. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr Corbell, and thank you, Mr Barr.

Debate (on motion by Mr Hanson) adjourned to the next sitting.

Construction and Energy Efficiency Legislation Amendment Bill 2013 (No 2)

Mr Corbell, pursuant to notice, presented the bill, its explanatory statement and a Human Rights Act compatibility statement.

Title read by Clerk.

MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (11.12): I move:

That this bill be agreed to in principle.

I seek leave to have my speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows:

While there are a number of offences in the Building Act, the amendments in the bill focus on offences in sections 42A, 49 and 51. Those offences cover compliance with the majority of administrative and technical requirements for building work.

The new penalties comply with the principle that an offence should have a single maximum penalty that is adequate to deter and punish a worst case offence including the case of a repeat offence.

Some new maximum penalties include a term of imprisonment. This is warranted when considering that failure to comply with the Building Act can endanger life or property and is an abuse of trust.

The offences in the bill appropriately reflect the potential seriousness of non-compliance and the different roles of landowners, licensees and other parties in relation to building work.


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