Government business

Parliamentary Budget Officer Amendment Bill 2018

House of origin: Legislative Assembly

The Parliamentary Budget Officer is an independent officer of Parliament established under the Parliamentary Budget Officer Act 2010 to provide information on the costs of election policies proposed by the Government and opposition in advance of a NSW general election.

Following the 2015 election, the Government committed to amending the Parliamentary Budget Officer Act 2010 to address changes recommended by both the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the Public Accounts Committee.

The amendments proposed to the bill include: requiring the Parliamentary Budget Officer to prepare a draft operational plan within one month of appointment; reducing the period within which a Government agency must respond to a request for information; enabling an election costing request to be withdrawn before it is publicly released, extending the matters to be included in budget impact statements; and requiring the Secretary of the Treasury to publicly release a pre-election budget update statement.

The House received the bill from the Assembly and it was read a first time on Tuesday. Following the second reading on Wednesday, the House considered Greens and Opposition amendments in committee of the whole.

The Greens amendments sought to allow the policies of minor parties (defined in the amendment as parties having not less than 3 members in the Parliament) to be costed by the Parliamentary Budget Officer but were negatived on the voices. The Opposition amendments sought to reduce the response times for a government agency to respond to information requests from the Parliamentary Budget Officer; and to omit the provision for information to be forwarded to the Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet. These amendments were defeated on division (18:21), notwithstanding the support of The Greens and the Animal Justice Party. See Hansard for a transcript of the debate.

The third reading was agreed to and the bill was returned to the Legislative Assembly without amendment.

Criminal Legislation Amendment (Consorting and Restricted Premises) Bill 2018

House of origin: Legislative Assembly

Consorting laws were amended in 2012, to, among other things, make it an offence to regularly communicate with convicted offenders following an official warning. The laws were reviewed by the Ombudsman in 2016 who expressed concern about their potential disproportionate impact on young and vulnerable people, including Aboriginal people.

The bill seeks to address the Ombudsman’s concerns by amending the Crimes Act 1900 to exclude children under the age of 14 from the laws and to introduce expiry limits for consorting warnings. Warnings issued to people under 18 will expire after six months, and warnings to adults will expire after two years. While all parties who spoke to the bill supported its intention, The Greens suggested that it did not go far enough to remedy the concerns expressed by the Ombudsman.

The House received the bill from the Assembly on Wednesday and it was read a first time. Debate on the second reading took place later that day (see Hansard for a transcript of the debate).

The second and third readings were agreed to and the bill was returned to the Legislative Assembly without amendment.

Water NSW Amendment (Warragamba Dam) Bill 2018

House of Origin: Legislative Council

In acknowledgement of the ongoing high risk of flooding in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley which has experienced five major, and 20 other serious floods since 1960, the Government is proposing to raise the Warragamba Dam wall.

The purpose of the bill is to overcome a technical barrier in the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 whereby the Minister for the Environment cannot grant a lease or easement on national park land that would enable the impoundment of water. The bill amends the Water NSW Act 2014 to specify that this provision does not apply to the temporary inundation of land upstream of the Warragamba Dam wall when operated for flood mitigation purposes. The bill itself does not seek approval to raise the dam wall, as this requires an environmental impact statement as well as planning approvals from the State and Australian Governments.

Debate on the second reading of the bill resumed on Wednesday, during which the Opposition and The Greens indicated their strong opposition to the Government’s proposal. During the debate The Greens moved that the question on the second reading be amended to instead have the bill referred to Portfolio Committee No. 6 for inquiry and report (see Hansard for a transcript of the debate).

However, as per the resolution of the House on Tuesday, at the conclusion of the debate but before the question on the second reading was put, the bill was referred to the State Development Committee which will now conduct a short inquiry and report by 10 October. Therefore, Mr Field’s amendment cannot be put until the State Development Committee completes its report and the order of the day for the second reading of the bill is restored. If Mr Field’s amendment is agreed to there would be a second, no doubt more lengthy, inquiry into the bill.

Western City and Aerotropolis Authority Bill 2018

House of origin: Legislative Assembly

The bill constitutes the Western City and Aerotropolis Authority (‘the Authority’) as a statutory corporation subject to the control and direction of the Minister, and provides for the Authority to have a governing Board comprising seven members appointed by the Minister. The bill confers functions on the Authority in relation to the development of land in its operational area which includes the area identified as the Western Sydney Aerotropolis.

The House received the bill from the Assembly and it was read a first time on Wednesday afternoon. Debate on the second reading commenced later in the day (see Hansard for a transcript of the debate) During the debate the Opposition and The Greens each foreshadowed that they would move a single amendment to the bill during the committee stage. The second reading was agreed to.

In the committee stage, The Greens amendment sought to ensure that a majority of appointed Board members were residents of the Western City area. The amendment was negatived on the voices. The Opposition amendment sought to have the Authority subject to the standard public authority requirements under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009, but was negatived on division (14:17).

The third reading was agreed to and the bill was returned to the Assembly without amendment.

Impounding Amendment (Shared Bicycles and Other Devices) Bill 2018

House of Origin: Legislative Assembly

The bill gives impounding officers additional power to move or impound shared hire bicycles and other devices that have been left in a public place, and increases the circumstances where a shared bicycle or other device can be immediately impounded or is taken to have been abandoned in a public place by the shared service operator. The bill also provides that shared devices that are causing an obstruction or safety risk are taken to have been abandoned by the operator if they are not moved within 3 hours of the operator being notified of their location.

The bill was received from the Legislative Assembly and introduced into the House on Wednesday afternoon, with the second reading debate then commencing later that night (see Hansard for a transcript of the debate). The second and third readings of the bill were agreed to and the bill was returned to the Legislative Assembly without amendment.

Residential Tenancies Amendment (Review) Bill 2018

House of Origin: Legislative Assembly

The Residential Tenancies Amendment (Review) Bill 2018 amends the Residential Tenancies Act 2010, giving effect to recommendations made in the statutory review of the Act undertaken in 2016. The bill relates to the terms, fees and obligations contained in residential tenancy agreements. The bill provides greater protections for victims of domestic violence, introduces basic, minimum standards of habituation for rental properties and limits rent increases for tenants on periodic leases.

The House received the bill from the Assembly on Wednesday evening and read a first time. The second reading debate commenced immediately, and after contributions from seven members, the second reading was agreed to (See Hansard for a transcript of the debate).

Consideration of the amendments in the committee stage was set down as an order of the day for the next sitting day. The Animal Justice Party, the Opposition and the Greens have all circulated amendments to the bill.

Adjournment debate

The following members spoke to the adjournment debate:

  • Mr Donnelly – Internships
  • Mr Moselmane – Multicultural Communities Drought Assistance
  • Mr Amato – William Mills Longcase Clock
  • Mr Shoebridge – Wilton South-East Development and Country Gardens Australia
  • Ms Walker – Tweed Hospital
  • Mrs Taylor – Community Preschools Drought Relief Payments.

See Hansard for details of the debate.