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13 November 2002 Wednesday, 13 November 2002

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13 November 2002 Wednesday, 13 November 2002 DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY FOR THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY HANSARD 13 November 2002 Wednesday, 13 November 2002 Civil Law (Wrongs) Amendment Bill 2002 (No 2)............................................3487 Crimes Amendment Bill 2002.............................................................................3488 Building (Water Efficiency) Amendment Bill 2002...........................................3491 Farmhand appeal.................................................................................................3495 Tuggeranong Community Festival......................................................................3511 Questions without notice: Superannuation............................................................................................3516 Gungahlin Drive extension..........................................................................3518 WorkCover—explosives depot....................................................................3520 Treatment of superannuation.......................................................................3521 Commission of audit....................................................................................3521 Affordable housing......................................................................................3523 Canberra airport...........................................................................................3524 Government Schools Education Council.....................................................3526 Police Ministers Council..............................................................................3527 Advertisement for ministerial staff..............................................................3529 Suspension of standing and temporary orders.....................................................3529 Questions without notice: Advertisement for ministerial staff..............................................................3533 Trees—removal...........................................................................................3535 Crime ...........................................................................................................3536 University of Canberra—fraud allegations..................................................3537 Advertisement for ministerial staff..............................................................3538 Adopt a road program..................................................................................3539 WorkCover—explosives depot....................................................................3539 World summit on sustainable development........................................................3539 Tuggeranong Community Festival......................................................................3540 War on Iraq..........................................................................................................3545 Universal bushfire prevention and safety education in schools ..........................3570 Young Achievement Australia............................................................................3580 General practitioners—bulk-billing.....................................................................3589 Adjournment: Cerebral palsy..............................................................................................3599 Surveillance cameras : Gungahlin Drive extension.....................................3600 World Masters Games .................................................................................3602 Statement by member ..................................................................................3602 Australia Day festival in the park : Statement by member..........................3603 Wednesday, 13 November 2002 MR SPEAKER (Mr Berry) took the chair at 10.30 am and asked members to stand in silence and pray or reflect on their responsibilities to the people of the Australian Capital Territory. Civil Law (Wrongs) Amendment Bill 2002 (No 2) Ms Dundas, pursuant to notice, presented the bill and its explanatory memorandum. Title read by Clerk. MS DUNDAS (10.31): I move: That this bill be agreed to in principle. I rise today to present the Civil Law (Wrongs) Amendment Bill 2002 (No 2). This bill seeks to amend the recently passed act that codified tort law in the ACT. The bill recognises people within domestic relationships as family for the purpose of legal action following the death of a loved one and legal action in regard to nervous shock arising out of the injury or death of a loved one. The Assembly would be aware that I circulated amendments to this effect when we were debating the wrongs bill in October of this year. At that time I was prescribing cohabitation as another prerequisite for accessing the law in this area. Concerns were raised at the time that the amendments may include some share houses and yet not recognise same-sex couples who have been together for years. So between the sittings I consulted with the Parliamentary Counsel, members of the queer community and others and I have brought back the amendments in a private members bill without the prerequisite of cohabitation. The ACT Democrats are proud of our support for the queer community of Canberra and we are pleased that the government has agreed to investigate all legislation and policies that actively discriminate against gay and lesbian Canberrans. We look forward to the review. I note in recent media comments that the Attorney-General is bringing in all the non-controversial amendments first and then opening up for debate the other areas which are controversial. By “controversial”, I think he means areas where members of the queer community are discriminated against and the discrimination is widely accepted—such as equal access to medical records or adoption. Just as an aside, Mr Speaker, the United Kingdom has just passed legislation allowing all couples to adopt, regardless of sexuality. I understand that it may seem difficult to grant equal rights to members of the community who have been denied them for years, but I don’t see the difference. These are not special rights: they are equal rights. 3487 13 November 2002 Mr Speaker, action speaks louder than words. In the last sitting a new piece of legislation was brought in by the Stanhope government that defined family members, but it did not allow for the inclusion of same-sex couples in that definition. This bill will rectify that problem and allow all family members access to the courts, be they straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex members of our community here in Canberra. The ACT Democrats believe that there should be no second-class citizens in Canberra and nobody should suffer the indignity of having fewer rights. By passing this bill we will provide equal access to justice for all family members. I commend the bill to the house. Debate (on motion by Mr Stanhope) adjourned to the next sitting. Crimes Amendment Bill 2002 Mr Pratt, pursuant to notice, presented the bill. Title read by Clerk. MR PRATT (10:35): I move: That this bill be agreed to in principle. Mr Speaker, the first and most important point that I can make—and I intend to labour this point a little—is that this bill is not intended to, nor in practical terms can it, undermine the recent legislation passed by the Assembly in relation to lawful abortions. While it is true to say that this anomaly was identified in the lead-up to the abortion debate, as a result of the level of scrutiny and analysis applied to the Crimes Act at that time, it is not true to say that this bill is designed to be a “backdoor” way of revisiting the abortion debate. There are a number of key features in this bill that made very clear that lawful abortions in the ACT are recognised and sanctioned from the provisions of the bill. The very first amendment to the Crimes Act provided by the bill is the insertion of a new section 42A, subsection (1) of which states very clearly: This section does not apply to— (a) a lawful abortion; or This new section does a couple of things in relation to the abortion debate. Not only does it clearly exclude lawful abortions from the provisions of the bill, it also enshrines in the Crimes Act an acknowledgment of “lawful abortions”. In addition, subsection 1 (b) of new section 42A also provides that the section does not apply to: anything done by a pregnant woman in relation to her own unborn child; or These are two vital paragraphs deliberately designed to separate the issues surrounding this bill from the issues surrounding the recent abortion debate in the Assembly. I understand fully the sensitivity of some members in relation to this issue, which is why 3488 13 November 2002 I have made a substantial effort to explain to members, both in the chamber and outside, that this bill will do nothing to affect the law changes passed by the Assembly recently. Mr Speaker, I believe that this bill is of such importance that I will not be attempting to rush it through. I will be consulting fully and I will be taking each point of view expressed to me into consideration when assessing what amendments or changes may need to be made to the bill in order to make it more acceptable to a majority of members of the Assembly. Let me be very clear about that point: I will be consulting widely, both within the Assembly and in the wider community, so that every viewpoint is taken into account to ensure that the Assembly eventually passes the best possible piece of legislation. A number of recent tragedies in Australia have highlighted what I
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