Queensland Parliamentary Debates [Hansard] Legislative Assembly TUESDAY, 11 MARCH 1986 Electronic reproduction of original hardcopy Petitions 11 March 1986 3949 TUESDAY, 11 MARCH 1986 Mr SPEAKER (Hon. J. H. Waraer, Toowoomba South) read prayers and took the chair at 11 a.m. ASSENT TO BILLS Assent to the following Bills reported by Mr Speaker— Criminal Code Amendment BiU; Lang Park Tmst Act Amendment Bill; Legal Aid Act Amendment Bill; Sanctuary Cove Resort Act Amendment BUl; Stock Routes and Rural Lands Protection Board Validation Bill; Stock Act Amendment Bill; Veterinary Surgeons Act Amendment Bill. PETITIONS The Clerk announced the receipt of the following petitions— Australia Acts (Request) Act From Mr Henderson (17 signatories) praying that the Parliament of Queensland will repeal the Australia Acts (Request) Act and aUow a referendum in terms of the Queensland Constitution, State Secondary School Facilities, Cooktown From Mr Powell (195 signatories) praying that the Parliament of Queensland will take action to extend existing State secondary school facilities at Cooktown, Elecfricity Concessions for Pensioners From Mr Braddy (182 signatories) praying that the Parliament of Queensland will provide for concessions on electricity costs for pensioners. Griffith University Course in Family Relationships From Mr Henderson (16 signatories) praying that the Parliament of Queensland will establish an inquiry into the Griffith University course in family relationships. Environmental Park, Lindeman Island From Mr Casey (3 662 signatories) praying that the Parliament of Queensland will have Lindeman Island approved as an environmental park. Mr CASEY: I rise to a point of order. I seek a mling by the Chair in respect of the petition relative to Lindeman Island that has been lodged by me on behalf of 3 662 residents of the Mackay district. Standing Order No. 238 states clearly that when people feel aggrieved—and those people feel aggrieved about this issue— "... the matter contained in the Petition may be brought into discussion immediately ... ". I seek a mling on whether that provision would apply in this instance. Mr SPEAKER: Order! I bring to the attention of the honourable member that the petition must complain of a personal grievance. Standing Order No, 237 states— "A Petition having been presented a Question shall be put, 'That the Petition be received,'" 3950 11 March 1986 Ministerial Statement I repeat that the petition must complain of a personal grievance, which is not so in the petition referred to by the honourable member for Mackay, Therefore, I cannot allow a debate on the matter. Petitions received. PAPERS The following paper was laid on the table, and ordered to be printed— Report of the Rockhampton Harbour Board for the year ended 30 June 1985. The following papers were laid on the table— Queensland Government Gazette Extraordinary of 6 March 1986 containing a proclamation by His Excellency the Govemor notifying and declaring that in respect of a Bill passed by the Legislative Assembly of Queensland intituled "A Bill to provide for the protection of the environment by regulating the dumping into the sea, and the incineration at sea, of wastes and other matter and the dumping into the sea of certain other objects, and for other purposes" and assented to by His Excellency on 20 December 1985, Her Majesty has signified Her pleasure that the Act may come into operation. Orders in Council under— Explosives Act 1952-1981 Industrial Development Act 1963-1981 and the Local Govemment Act 1936- 1984 Acts Interpretation Act 1954-1977 Fire Brigades Act 1964-1984 and the Statutory Bodies Financial Arrangements Act 1982 Fire Brigades Act 1964-1985 and the Statutory Bodies Financial Arrangements Act 1982 Fire Brigades Act 1964-1985 Acts Interpretation Act 1954-1977 and the Fire Brigades Act 1964-1985 Harbours Acts 1955-1982 and the Statutory Bodies Financial Arrangements Act 1982-1984 Regulations under— Builders' Registration and Home-owners' Protection Act 1979-1983 Explosives Act 1952-1981 Clean Afr Act 1963-1984 Fire Brigades Act 1964-1985 Fire Safety Act 1974-1985 By-laws under the Fire Brigades Act 1964-1985 Rules under the Hospitals Foundations Act 1982. MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Bill of Rights; Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Bill Hon. Sir JOH BJELKE-PETERSEN (Barambah—Premier and Treasurer) (11.8 a.m.), by leave: Honourable members would be aware that two particularly obnoxious pieces of Commonwealth legislation have reached the Committee stage in the Senate after their passage through the House of Representatives late last year. 1 refer to the Australian Bill of Rights and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Bill. Ministerial Statement 11 March 1986 3951 For weeks now we have had to endure the unseemly spectacle of horse-trading between the Federal Govemment and the Australian Democrats as various factions in the ALP argue with Democrat senators in an endeavour to make the States subject to the articles of the proposed Bill of Rights. AU Australians with any concem for our Australian system of democracy must now do all in their power to oppose the BUl of Rights. Honourable members would have read statements by the Commonwealth Attomey- General (Lionel Bowen) that he is opposed to the application of the Bill of Rights to the States. What utter mbbish! Part 5 of the Bill dealing with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission already applies to the States. But this is not the end of the matter. Mr Bowen made it absolutely clear when introducing his legislation that, if the States do not comply with the directions of the Human Rights Commission and amend or repeal any legislation which that Star Chamber type of body considers offensive, the Commonwealth will enact specific overriding legislation and will extend the operation of the Bill of Rights to the States. How embarrassing it must have been for the Labor Party to hear Premier Burke publicly state in the clearest of terms that he is responsible for electoral legislation in Westem Australia and that he does not want, and will not accept. Commonwealth interference in his State's affairs. If a Bill of Rights is so important, why does the Commonwealth Govemment not draft a Bill appropriate to Australian society and then submit it at a referendum for the approval of the electors of Australia? Instead, it has adopted a back-door method by relying on a United Nations covenant that was drafted with a view to correcting grave abuses of human rights and civil liberties that occur in Nazi, fascist and Leninist countries. The Commonwealth has relied on the discredited external affairs power of the Constitution to give it a constitutional head of power on which to legislate. The founding fathers will tura in their graves at such an abuse of the Australian Constitution. The Australian Bill of Rights will sound the death-knell of democracy in Australia. Parliament will no longer be supreme and responsible for determining issues of major social, cultural and political importance. This Parliament's legislation will be subjected to approval by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. If the civil liberty radicals have their way and the States are subjected to the Bill of Rights, our legislation will be open to interpretation in the Federal courts by federally appointed judges. What can be justified will be determined not by Parliament but by the courts. Let me draw the attention of honourable members to some examples of what has happened overseas as a result of judicial interpretation of legislation— American State laws requiring citizenship as a prerequisite for civil service appointments have been stmck down. Legislation providing for mandatory maternity leave for teachers has been declared invalid on the basis that it discriminates in favour of females. Provisions in overseas human rights instmments relating to freedom of expression and freedom of the media similar to the provisions of Article 7 of the Australian Bill of Rights have resulted in chaos and uncertainty regarding the laws of defamation. The freedom of religion provision has been used in the United States to enable violation of a State law requiring compulsory school attendance. A claim that any belief, however incredible, is a religion has been upheld. The European Commission on human rights has mled that a law rendering all homosexual conduct illegal is in breach of the privacy article. Privacy has also been held to create a right to abortion on demand. 3952 11 March 1986 Leave to Move Motion Without Notice Obscenity and pomography laws have been declared invalid, also under the privacy article. In Canada and the United States, the right under Article 23, stating that an accused must be tried within a reasonable time, leads to the automatic dismissal of a charge if the court decides, in its opinion, that any delay that has occurted is unreasonable. Mandatory prison sentences have been held to be cmel and unusual and therefore invalid, if the judiciary believes that the legislature prescribed a disproportionate penalty. The examples are endless, but I want to make the point that courts overseas have overturned parliamentary legislation on citizenship, sexual offences, electoral laws, defamation, education, homosexual activities, abortion, obscenity, pomography and dmgs. Surely we do not want all these precedents imported into our Australian legal system, but they wiU be if we are unfortunate enough to have the BiU of Rights legislation brought into operation. Not only will the courts be able to overtum legislation passed by Parhament, but also the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission wiU have the power to examine, report and recommend action to be taken in regard to State and Commonwealth legislation, even before it is introduced into Parliament, The commission is empowered to hold inquiries in such a manner as it thinks fit, and it is not bound by the mles of evidence.