<< back to archive index Adjournment Speech Date: 20th May Subject: Unproclaimed Legislation "Recently my office completed a State-by-State comparative analysis of legislation passed but unproclaimed since 1999. New South Wales is the only State that keeps a record of how much legislation is unproclaimed-an initiative of my predecessor, the Hon. Elisabeth Kirkby. In New South Wales as of 6 May a total of 100 Acts dating as far back as 1967 have yet to be fully enacted. I regret to say that New South Wales, under the spin doctoring of the Carr Government, leads the way in failing to enact legislation passed by the elected representatives in State Parliament. As at 18 May New South Wales had 66 bills unproclaimed, Queensland 32, Victoria 19, Tasmania 18, and South Australia 16. Three-fifths of the list comprises legislation passed in the last session of the New South Wales Parliament, and the Executive seems in no hurry to implement those provisions. Acts that were passed in the last session of this Parliament and have yet to be proclaimed in their entirety are: Albury-Wodonga Development Repeal Act 2000, the Roman Catholic Church Communities' Lands Amendment Act 2001, the Dental Practice Act 2001, the Higher Education Act 2001, the Crimes (Local Courts Appeal and Review) Act 2001, the Road Transport (General) Amendment (Operator Owners Offences) Act 2002, the Justices of the Peace Act 2002, the Mining Legislation Amendment (Health and Safety) Act 2002, the Property, Stock and Information Privacy Act 2002, the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002, the Road Transport Legislation Amendment (Interlock Devices) Act 2002, the Surveying Act 2002, the Summary Offences Amendment (Spray Cans) Act 2002, the Driving Instructors Amendment Act 2002, and the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act 2002. Whole schedules of Acts remain to be activated, including those in the Children and Young Person (Care and Protection) Act 1998; the Water Management Act 2000; the Adoption Act 2000; schedule 1 of the National Parks and Wildlife (Adjustment of Areas) Act 2001, which relates to Myall Lakes National Park; section 10 of the Smoke-Free Environment Act 2000, which relates to hotels providing smoke-free areas; the Threatened Species Conservation Amendment Act 2002; and the Building Legislation Amendment (Quality of Construction) Act 2002. This is a serious situation. Although I agree that occasionally it is necessary that some sections of Acts should not be proclaimed until the necessary resources and procedural structures are in place to enable State authorities and agencies to implement legislation effectively, it seems that in New South Wales bills that have been passed for purely political or populist reasons have never been enacted. The Carr Government's failure to enact key provisions of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act for the past five years is a case in point. The Government appears to be doing something whereas in reality it is doing nothing. The Carr Government seems to pick and choose which sections of an Act it wants to implement. If an amendment is successfully moved by an Opposition party, the Government can choose not to proclaim it, therefore making it redundant and usurping the will of Parliament. For example, the Carr Government did not proclaim section 61 (6) of the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 after a former member of the Legislative Council, Mrs Helen Sham-Ho, introduced the amendment with the unanimous support of both Houses of this Parliament. The Government acted unconstitutionally on that occasion, and nothing will prevent it from doing so again. In New South Wales the Executive can override decisions made by the elected representatives of the people. An example of how the Carr Government operates in New South Wales is the way in which the Executive tightens its dominance over the Legislature. I propose to seek to amend the Interpretation Act to provide that Acts are proclaimed six months after assent unless a proclamation date is specified in the legislation. Theoretically this State has responsible government with power vested in the Parliament. It is more than 150 years since the upper House was merely an advisory body to the Governor. Sadly, the power that should reside in the Parliament now rests with people in Governor Macquarie Tower and the Executive, which chooses what the Governor will and will not proclaim. It is undemocratic and it makes a sham of our deliberations in this Parliament. I have not analysed in detail whether the bill is less likely to be proclaimed if the Government does not like the foreshadowed amendments. It would be extraordinary if that were the case. As this is an important issue, I will introduce an amending bill that will automatically proclaim bills six months after they are passed. But will this bill be proclaimed if it is agreed to by this Chamber?"

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