House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-02-07 Daily Xml

Contents

GRAFFITI CONTROL (MISCELLANEOUS) AMENDMENT BILL

Conference

The Legislative Council having considered the recommendations from the conference agreed to the same.

Consideration in committee of the recommendations of the conference.

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

That the recommendations of the conference be agreed to.

In so doing, I thank everyone who participated in the conference and particularly I thank the deputy, whose intervention proved to be absolutely critical in avoiding this matter reaching its first birthday, and I thank her for her efforts.

Ms CHAPMAN: I also wish to thank members of the committee. Sometimes the smallest things take up the longest time on the agenda, and this has taken quite some time to finally resolve, but I think in a sensible manner, and I am pleased that we have had an opportunity to be able to resolve it. It does highlight just one thing, and I mention this because the committee process is one which has the capacity to continue to operate in and outside of the time that parliaments sit.

I think one of the things that is most telling in the delay in actually being able to conclude this matter is that important members are on it, obviously including people who are ministers and of course are very busy, and so months can go by between meeting opportunities. So, it is a little bit difficult, I know. One of the things that happens in other parliaments is that committee work, even such as we are about to go into with the bill we are about to resume, actually goes on while the parliament continues.

So, perhaps there is an opportunity for that to occur, which I think still applies in the federal parliament, because we have just got to be able to try and utilise the time, especially when ministers are very busy people. I accept that, but while they are here in parliament, at least they are here and able to attend to the business of the parliament. It gives us a chance to be able to progress these more rapidly. But I thank members of the committee for their sensible approach ultimately in resolving this matter.

Motion carried.