LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (PRESENTATION OF SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION) BILL

11.39 am

Order for Second Reading read.

The Attorney-General (Mr E. P. Shanks): Mr Speaker. Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

In the days when we had a Legislative Council it was customary to refer to the "laying before" that Council of subsidiary legislation, and the form of words then appropriate still appears in many Ordinances of the Colony. Now it is proper to speak not of "laying" but of "presenting" papers to the Assembly and Standing Order No. 12 says explicitly how this should be done.

Then another aspect in which the phraseology used in some Ordinances is now inappropriate is that some contain references to action which may be taken by the Assembly by way of approval or annulment at some meeting subsequent to the meeting at which they are laid. These references to meetings are now misleading and it is clear that when the legislature enacted these various Ordinances, it had in mind what we now refer to as sittings. I do not think I need embark on a detailed exposition of the technical difference between the meaning of the word "meeting", as used in the days of the Legislative Council, and the words "meeting" and "sitting", as used now in relation to the procedure of this House. The words "sitting" and "sitting days" are, I think, fully understood by all hon. Members present and I do not wish to take up their time unnecessarily.

As indicated, perhaps too briefly, in the explanatory statement appended to the Bill, the main object of the Bill is to bring the now old-fashioned provisions of the various Ordinances referred to in the Schedule up to date in the respects I have indicated, and to ensure that the Ordinances of the Colony will be in line with the present procedure of this House. But the matter is perhaps just a little more complicated than I have so far indicated. Some Ordinances provide for subsidiary legislation to be laid as soon as possible after the meeting thereof, without reference to publication in the Gazette; others for laying at the first meeting after publication. Some provide for approval or annulment by a resolution passed within a particular period of time - variously one, two or three months. Others provide for approval or annulment without specifying any particular time. Some say merely "at some meeting subsequent to the meeting at which they are laid".

Now while the exact form of words used must necessarily vary from Ordinance to Ordinance, unless there is to be a comprehensive revision, which would be a major undertaking, it is desirable that there should be some uniformity and, particularly, that the Assembly should know with certainty its powers in respect of subsidiary legislation for which it is directly responsible, by reason of the need for affirmative approval, and in respect of legislation which it has express powers to annul or vary by resolution. To these ends, therefore, this Bill proposes the achievement of such uniformity as is readily possible by the adoption of a common form of words and the insertion, where none exists at present, of a specific period within which the Assembly may act. The principle on which the Schedule to this Bill has been prepared is that where no period is at present mentioned, it shall be not later than the first available sitting day next after the expiry of one month from presentation. Where a period is already specified in an Ordinance, that same period - be it one, two or three months - should have been adopted. Unfortunately I now find that in the course of seeking further uniformity, some errors have crept into the drafting and, in some instances, the periods have been incorrectly set out. In respect of these errors, I shall at the Committee stage seek the approval of the House to correct them and also to delete a reference to one Ordinance which has been repealed since the first draft of this Bill was prepared and to insert another that' was overlooked. But these, together with other matters brought to my notice since the Bill was published, for which I am most grateful, are not major matters of principle. The principles of the Bill are, as I have said, to bring our legislation up to date and to seek to achieve some uniformity and clear certainty as to the powers of the House.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole Assembly.

Committee Wednesday, 10th September, 1958.