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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-07-16 Daily Xml
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REFERENDUM (REFORM OF LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL AND SETTLEMENT OF DEADLOCKS ON LEGISLATION) BILL

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON (Croydon—Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (15:48): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to provide for the submission of the Constitution (Reform of Legislative Council and Settlement of Deadlocks on Legislation) Amendment Bill 2009 to a referendum. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON (Croydon—Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (15:49): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This bill accompanies the Constitution (Reform of the Legislative Council and Settlement of Deadlocks on Legislation) Amendment Bill 2009—wait for it—which cannot come into operation unless it has been approved by the electors in a referendum. It is a procedural bill providing for the holding of a referendum and the means by which it is to be done. As South Australia does not have a referendum act of general application—and I am sure the member for Davenport knows that—it is necessary to ask parliament to pass a referendum bill for each proposed referendum.

The bill provides that the question to be put to the electors at the referendum is: do you approve the Constitution (Reform of Legislative Council and Settlement of Deadlocks on Legislation) Amendment Bill 2009?

The bill requires that the referendum be held on the day fixed for a general election, and it is intended that the referendum be held at the next general election. The South Australian Electoral Commissioner will be responsible for the conduct of the referendum. The Electoral Act 1985 will apply, with necessary exceptions or modifications prescribed by legislation. I commend the bill to the house. I seek leave to insert the explanation of clauses in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

Explanation of Clauses

1—Short title

This clause is formal.

2—The referendum

This clause provides for the Constitution (Reform of Legislative Council and Settlement of Deadlocks on Legislation) Amendment Bill 2009 to be submitted to a referendum. The provision specifies that the referendum must be held on the day of a general election (taking into account the requirement in section 10A of the Constitution Act 1934 that the referendum be held not less than 2 months after the Bill has passed through the Parliament).

3—Conduct of referendum

This clause provides that the Electoral Commissioner is responsible for the conduct of the referendum and provides for the appointment of scrutineers for the purposes of the referendum, the application of the Electoral Act 1985 to the referendum and the declaration of the result of the referendum.

4—Regulations

This clause provides for the making of regulations for the purposes of the measure.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.F. Evans.

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