Mr KIELY - 2001-10-23
Can the Attorney-General outline the process this government will undertake before finalising the information legislation to be brought to this House?
ANSWER
I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. We are engaging in a very exciting period in the Territory democratic processes now. It is very appropriate that the information bill is the vehicle for that consultation. For the next four months, we are going to receive and consider returns from all sections of the Territory community, even the opposition. We will be very happy to see the offerings of various groups and individuals. Whether they be by electronic transfer on to the web site, whether people want to put it in a letter, whether they want to have verbal presentation, we will take it in any form that people want to give us.
We expect the draft legislation that is being put in front of the House today will be fully tested against public opinion and expert advice by sections of the community. If those opposite want to get paranoiac about changes that we might put into the draft, we are certainly not trying to hide anything. Why would we go out to the community …
Members interjecting.
Dr TOYNE: The general intention is to have the returns from the community groups by 28 February. We will then carefully consider all those returns. Where there are valid arguments and constructive amendments put up, they will be written into the legislation prior to it being re-introduced to parliament. We would expect that it would come back to parliament somewhere around May or June, and be passed through by August. After the passage of the legislation in its final form, we then have to give the departments in the Northern Territory government system, and the private sector organisations that are in contractual arrangements with the government, time to get their records in sufficient order so that they can respond to the provisions of the act. I think you can see that this is going to be a prolonged process, a very transparent process, a very open process, and that is very fitting for an information bill.
ANSWER
I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. We are engaging in a very exciting period in the Territory democratic processes now. It is very appropriate that the information bill is the vehicle for that consultation. For the next four months, we are going to receive and consider returns from all sections of the Territory community, even the opposition. We will be very happy to see the offerings of various groups and individuals. Whether they be by electronic transfer on to the web site, whether people want to put it in a letter, whether they want to have verbal presentation, we will take it in any form that people want to give us.
We expect the draft legislation that is being put in front of the House today will be fully tested against public opinion and expert advice by sections of the community. If those opposite want to get paranoiac about changes that we might put into the draft, we are certainly not trying to hide anything. Why would we go out to the community …
Members interjecting.
Dr TOYNE: The general intention is to have the returns from the community groups by 28 February. We will then carefully consider all those returns. Where there are valid arguments and constructive amendments put up, they will be written into the legislation prior to it being re-introduced to parliament. We would expect that it would come back to parliament somewhere around May or June, and be passed through by August. After the passage of the legislation in its final form, we then have to give the departments in the Northern Territory government system, and the private sector organisations that are in contractual arrangements with the government, time to get their records in sufficient order so that they can respond to the provisions of the act. I think you can see that this is going to be a prolonged process, a very transparent process, a very open process, and that is very fitting for an information bill.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016