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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-11-25 Daily Xml
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Unclaimed Goods (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading (resumed on motion).

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (16:56): I rise to indicate that the opposition supports the bill and that I am the lead speaker for the opposition. This is a bill that the Attorney introduced in another place back in August and it has made its way to the House of Assembly chamber in this final sitting week of the year, I hope with a view to its passage. I think that is the intent of the government. That ought to happen without delay.

There has been a fairly thoroughgoing airing of the ground that this covers. There is a bit of modernisation of terms along the way but essentially this is a bill that is responsive to industry feedback about the practicalities of holding, sometimes endlessly, items that have been essentially abandoned perhaps in circumstances where they have been left for repair and repairs have come in at a cost that is not able to be met and there is the sort of dysfunction of an item being then left. To take the example of motor traders and repairers, there is a concern because large items such as motor vehicles pile up pretty quickly and if there is not a means of efficient disposal then that becomes very disruptive indeed.

I am conscious, as is almost universally the case, of the very thoroughgoing contribution by the Law Society. I note in its letter to the Attorney dated 21 August last year—I think coincidentally just exactly a year prior to the introduction of the bill as it ended up—there is a very thorough treatment of the sorts of concerns and opportunities for legislation for improvement in this area that is set out there by the Law Society. I take the opportunity to recognise the valuable work it does that is of assistance to government but also very much of assistance to the opposition in these circumstances.

The then president of the Law Society, former president Alex Lazarevich, authored that letter, as he has done on so many occasions. I will expand just briefly when I next have the opportunity but for the moment I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

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