Page 4634 - Week 12 - Thursday, 1 November 2018
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MS LEE (Kurrajong) (11.39), in reply: Once again I thank Ms Le Couteur for bringing forward this bill because it does cover an important topic which is, of course, of great interest to the entire community. I reiterate that it was a difficult inquiry, in the sense that it did conflate some very difficult and very technical legal issues, touching on fundamental concepts such as innocence until proven guilty and the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, when it comes to criminal matters, on the one hand, and the very clear call from our community that there should be an affirmative definition of consent in legislation which reflects not only the current law but also the accepted community standard that “yes means yes” on the other hand.
I turn to recommendation 5, and I thank Ms Le Couteur for raising it because it does seem to have confused some people. On reflection, I have reconsidered the wording, and on behalf of the committee I do apologise for that perhaps clumsy wording that has sent a few people off course. That is why yesterday afternoon I tabled a corrigendum to ensure that we could clear up any confusion. The corrigendum replaces recommendation 5 with the following words:
The Committee recommends that Section 67 of the Crimes Act 1900 be amended to include a provision which states that the fact a person does not say or communicate consent is not, of itself, regarded as consent.
I hope that that is better phrasing. I certainly spoke to committee members, and we all thought that that may help clear up any confusion. Once again I thank all committee members for their contributions to the inquiry, our committee secretary, Andrew Snedden, all secretarial staff, and everyone who submitted and gave evidence to the inquiry.
It was certainly one of the most interesting inquiries that I have been involved in, in my time in the Assembly. I know that the debate is only beginning, and we hope that the committee’s work contributes to our ongoing discussions on this important issue. I commend the report, the recommendations and the corrigendum to the Assembly.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Drone delivery systems
Proposed inquiry
MR WALL (Brindabella) (11.42): I move:
That:
(1) the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Tourism inquire into and report on drone delivery systems in the ACT, with particular reference to:
(a) the decision to base the trials of the technology in the ACT and surrounding region;
(b) the economic impact of drone delivery technology being tested in the ACT including the:
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