RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES (MISCELLANEOUS) AMENDMENT BILL

Final Stages

Consideration in committee of the Legislative Council's amendments.

(Continued from 19 March 2013.)

The Hon. J.R. RAU: I will be very brief. The residential tenancies legislation was designed to balance up improving of protection for tenants and landlords, at the same time increasing the powers and efficiencies of the tribunal and reducing red tape for the real estate industry. The bill struck a sensible balance with this. What has happened is that there have been a number of amendments made in the Legislative Council. I do not want to traverse each and every one of them because I do not want to waste everybody's time here, but a number of those raise some serious issues and cause some serious concern. However, there is one in particular, which was an amendment moved by the Hon. Mark Parnell. This particular amendment moved by the Hon. Mark Parnell significantly increases the requirements needed to appoint somebody to the tribunal.

In the other place, the Hon. Stephen Wade amended the bill on the floor to require that a member of the Residential Tenancies Tribunal, before being appointed or reappointed, must go through a process whereby the minister must consult on the proposed amendment with a panel, consisting of a nominee of the Law Society, the Attorney-General, the House of Assembly, the Legislative Council and the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment. This amendment was passed in the other place. I need to emphasise that this was a completely impromptu amendment, of which we had no notice, and we certainly had no idea that it would be supported there.

The point is, of course, that I am not even sure what the exact nature of the support for that was, and I guess that is not relevant. I am not sure whether the shadow minister, Mr Griffiths, is entirely happy with this. I do not know; I have not had a chance to speak to him about it. Again, I guess that does not really matter at this point.

I want to make it clear for the record what this amendment would mean for the government. In the year 2012, due to a backlog in the tribunal listings, which the opposition raised in parliament on numerous occasions, I appointed new members to the tribunal in order to be able to clear the backlog very quickly. I need to make it clear that the amendment that has now been introduced would seriously compromise the government's capacity to do these things quickly and easily—any government of the day, I might add, not just this government.

Key industry bodies, such as the Real Estate Institute of South Australia, have expressed concern about the impact of the amendment. I make the point that, if a similar burden was placed on the appointment and reappointment of members of all government tribunals, red tape would increase while efficiency would decrease. With the exception of that provision—

The CHAIR: Is that amendment No. 2?

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Yes, that is correct; it is amendment No. 2. I am not necessarily enamoured of all of the other amendments, but I think it is a reasonable compromise for the other place to accept the other amendments. With the exception of amendment No. 2, I will move that the suggestions made by the other place be agreed to and that the legislation be returned to the other place for reconsideration.

Mr GARDNER: I am going to be extremely brief. I do not think it is very helpful of the minister to cast aspersions on the way in which amendments are moved in the Legislative Council as being in an impromptu manner when he has just come in here with no notice and said that he wants to deal with this issue right now, after 6 o'clock on a Thursday evening of the parliament. Nevertheless, I am glad that he is accepting most of the other amendments. I would hope that he will give the shadow minister due courtesy in the future.

Amendment No. 1.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: I move:

That the Legislative Council's amendment No. 1 be agreed to.

Motion carried.

Amendment No. 2.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: I move:

That the Legislative Council's amendment No. 2 be disagreed to.

Motion carried.

Amendments Nos 3 to 16.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: I move:

That the Legislative Council's amendments Nos 3 to 16 be agreed to.

Motion carried.