Page 960 - Week 04 - Thursday, 7 May 2020
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The committee accepts this situation but must also draw the Assembly’s attention to the central role the Assembly has given the scrutiny committee. The committee is to scrutinise bills, as introduced, after their introduction in the Assembly and to report on them prior to debate so that government may respond to considered comment on proposed legislation which contains effects, burdens or unintended consequences which need a public response and an explanation, bearing in mind the committee criteria for assessing bills.
It is beyond the committee’s scope and role to comment on draft bills or any other documents that may arise during the legislative process conducted prior to a bill’s introduction, however administratively convenient that may be.
In accordance with the Chief Minister’s 2 April undertaking to the Assembly, the scrutiny committee was last Friday provided with a copy of the draft of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Legislation Amendment Bill 2020 intended to be tabled and debated today, with an invitation from the Attorney-General to advise the government of its comments on the draft bill by midday on Tuesday, 5 May.
The bill is lengthy, comprehensive and, without canvassing its provisions in detail, it enacts considerable change to a range of important legislation, including crimes legislation and legislation applying to tenancies and to young people. The committee thanks the attorney for the courtesy of his correspondence. However, because of the committee’s stated aims, we were not able to provide a formal response or report on the draft bill yesterday, for the reasons I have given.
The scrutiny committee is not in a position to comment on anything other than bills introduced to the Assembly. However, in the interests of achieving the best possible legislative outcome, the committee agreed yesterday to release to the Attorney-General and members of the Assembly advice prepared for it by our legal adviser. If the Attorney-General or the government chooses to amend the bill further, based on this advice, we have asked that the committee be notified of such changes in order that the committee’s next report can take that into account.
The COVID-19 Emergency Response Legislation Amendment Bill 2020 will be reported on in the committee’s next report to the Assembly, which may recommend that further consideration be given to amending the bill or explanatory statement.
The Assembly may need to consider whether it now accepts this approach to the scrutiny of legislation, even if limited to emergency legislation, during the prevailing very unusual circumstances. It is the view of the scrutiny committee that, having developed a strong, structured and systematic approach to pre-legislative scrutiny, its usual approach can be accommodated from now on to ensure that the committee’s reports, comments and recommendations can be tabled prior to debate and enactment of legislation. If this required an additional sitting day or days to allow for the debate on bills, I am sure members would make themselves available for the benefit of a proper legislative process being once again undertaken.
The Assembly dealt this morning with a proposal for the addition of further sitting days, which can provide an opportunity for the conventional period between the
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