Matter of Public Importance – The undue influence of the racing and gambling industries on NSW politics

Standing order 200 provides members of the Legislative Council with the opportunity to propose that a matter which they consider to be of public importance be debated by the House. The member proposing the matter is given ten minutes in which to state why the House should debate the matter and a Minister receives ten minutes to discuss whether the Government agrees with the proposal. The House then decides whether the matter should be debated in full.

On Wednesday morning Mr Field moved his motion (which he had given on Tuesday) that the House discuss the ‘undue influence of the racing and gambling industries on New South Wales politics’ as a matter of public importance. In support of the motion Mr Field argued that the political influence of racing and gambling industries is a critically important issue for the State and for democracy. In response, Minister Blair noted the Government’s efforts to prevent and reduce problem gambling, and argued that the House had more pressing matters to discuss.

The House did not support the motion to debate the matter, with the Government, Opposition, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party and the Christian Democratic Party voting against the motion and only The Greens and the Animal Justice Party voting in favour (Division 6:34).

Residential Tenancies Amendment (Review) Bill 2018

House of Origin: Legislative Assembly

The Residential Tenancies Amendment (Review) Bill 2018 seeks to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2010, to implement recommendations made in the 2016 statutory review of the Act. The purpose of the bill is to provide greater protections to tenants including for victims of domestic violence. It introduces minimum standards for properties and makes it easier for tenants to obtain repairs. The bill also restricts rent increases for periodic leases to once every 12 months, includes set fees for breaking a fixed-term lease and introduces more robust dispute resolution processes.

On 26 September the House agreed to the second reading, but decided to delay consideration of the bill in committee. The committee stage took place on Wednesday where 20 Greens and four Opposition amendments and one Animal Justice Party (AJP) amendment were considered. All amendments were ultimately negatived following a lengthy debate.

At the start, an AJP amendment regarding the rights of tenants to have companion animals was defeated on the voices.

Both the Opposition and The Greens amendments sought to introduce further protection for tenants against unreasonable termination of rental agreements. The Greens approach was to specify in the legislation the grounds on which a termination notice could be made, while the Opposition considered that the detail of what constitutes reasonable grounds should be set out in regulation. The Greens amendments drew the support of the AJP only and were negatived on division (6:33). The Opposition amendments also received the support of the AJP and that of The Greens, however they were also negatived on division (18:22).

The Greens moved a number of further amendments that sought to extend some of the bill’s tenancy protections to people living in shared housing, limit rent increases to once per year, specify various minimum standards of what constitutes a ‘habitable’ residence and allow a tenant to make minor alterations without requiring the landlord’s approval.

The bill was reported to the House without amendment, read a third time and returned to the Assembly.

National Park Estate (Reservations) Bill 2018

House of origin: Legislative Assembly

The bill seeks to transfer 4,505 hectares of unproductive State forest lands to the national park estate in five separate transfers, effective from 1 January 2019. The intention of the proposed transfers is to further conserve biodiversity and protect habitat for threatened species and significant cultural heritage. The estates affected by the transfers include: Willi Willi National Park, Budderoo National Park, Curracabundi State Conservation Area, Yango State Conservation Area, and the Muldiva State Forest.

The second reading, which took place on Wednesday afternoon, was agreed to,(see Hansard for a transcript of the debate).

The Greens moved 31 amendments during a lengthy committee stage. The amendments sought to transfer an additional 25,876 hectares of forest lands to the national parks estate, to prevent coalmining and to establish new koala reserves. While the Opposition acknowledged the intention of the Greens amendments it did not support them, arguing that new park areas or reserves should not be established without first undertaking comprehensive scientific and costing analysis and public consultation. All of the amendments were defeated on division, with only the Animal Justice Party voting with The Greens.

The bill was reported to the House without amendment, read a third time and returned to the Assembly without amendment.

Civil Liability Amendment (Organisational Child Abuse Liability) Bill 2018

House of Origin: Legislative Assembly

The bill amends the Civil Liability Act 2002, to create a duty on organisations to prevent child abuse, and implements civil litigation recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The bill widens the definition of an ’employee’ in order to extend vicarious liability to include child abuse perpetrated by non-employees whose relationship with the organisation is akin to employment. It also implements the intent of the Royal Commission’s recommendations to impose a duty on certain institutions and to enable survivors to identify the appropriate person to sue.

The second reading debate on the bill took place on Wednesday, with the bill receiving unanimous support. After contributions from five members, the second and third readings were agreed to, and the bill returned to the Legislative Assembly without amendment. (See Hansard for a transcript of the debate).

Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Legislation Amendment Bill 2018

House of Origin: Legislative Council

The bill seeks to amend the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 and the Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987 to prohibit drones from being flown above correctional and juvenile justice centres. This follows a range of incidents around the world including a drone caught on CCTV footage at the Lithgow Correctional Centre in October 2017 which may have been used to smuggle steroids into the prison. The bill also seeks to prohibit Corrective Services employees engaging in sexual and intimate relationships with sentenced and unsentenced inmates and offenders and provides clarity on when correctional officers may use reasonable force against visitors.

This was the first of five bills introduced by the Government on Wednesday night. The Parliamentary Secretary (Mr Farlow) introduced the bill and gave the second reading speech on behalf of Minister Blair (see Hansard for a transcript of the speech). The bill was then adjourned for five calendar days.

Combat Sports Amendment Bill 2018

House of Origin: Legislative Council

The bill proposes a number of amendments to the Combat Sports Act 2013 which regulates combat sports in the State. It was informed by a review of the Act conducted by the Combat Sports Authority. The bill aims to improve combatant health and safety by giving trainers the power to direct a referee to stop a contest if there are concerns about the health and safety of the combatant, clarifying which sport contests are determined to be ‘professional combat sport contests’, providing for medical examinations of combat sport competitors, and removing a waiting period for combat sport competitor registration.

The Parliamentary Secretary (Mr Farlow) introduced the bill and gave the second reading speech on behalf of Minister Harwin. In that speech, Mr Farlow indicated that the bill was the start of a process of reform to combat sports in the State (see Hansard for a transcript of the speech). At the conclusion of Mr Farlow’s speech, debate was adjourned for five days.

Fair Trading Legislation Amendment (Reform) Bill 2018 and cognate

Charitable Fundraising Amendment Bill 2018

House of Origin: Legislative Council

The Fair Trading Legislation Amendment (Reform) Bill seeks to reform administrative and licensing processes impacting a number of types of business, including home building contractors, property agents, motor dealers, architects and surveyors. The bill contains measures aimed at increasing transparency and competition and providing consumers with more information, including ensuring traders disclose any commissions or referral fees received for providing recommendations about other businesses. The bill further amends strata scheme legislation to prevent owners corporations from being permanently locked into utility supply agreements.

The cognate Charitable Fundraising Amendment Bill seeks to implement recommendations from the public inquiry into the RSL NSW conducted by the Hon Patricia Bergin SC earlier this year (Justice Bergin’s report is available here). The bill seeks to improve governance and oversight of the charities sector, including by modernising and simplifying clauses of the Charitable Fundraising Act 1991 and aligning NSW financial reporting and self disclosure reporting requirements with requirements of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission. The bill also clarifies that the Minister is required to approve individuals who hold remunerated board positions on charities.

The Parliamentary Secretary (Mr MacDonald) introduced the bills and gave the second reading speech on behalf of Minister Mitchell (see Hansard for a transcript of the speech). At the end of the speech the debate was adjourned for five days.

Planning Legislation Amendment (Greater Sydney Commission) Bill 2018

House of Origin: Legislative Council

The bill amends the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and the Greater Sydney Commission Act 2015 to clarify the powers and functions of the Greater Sydney Commission and the Natural Resources Commission. It also seeks to improve the operations of the Independent Planning Commission via more efficient consultation and reporting processes between the Minister for Planning and the commissions.

The bill was introduced in the House late on Wednesday evening by the Parliamentary Secretary (Mr Farlow) who gave the second reading speech on behalf of Minister Harwin. (See Hansard for a transcript of the speech). The debate was then adjourned for five days.

Conveyancing Legislation Amendment Bill 2018

House of origin: Legislative Council

The bill amends the Conveyancing Act 1919 and the Real Property Act 1900 in respect to off-the-plan residential property contracts and electronic land transactions. The key reforms include introducing a disclosure regime to require a minimum level of information to be given to a purchaser before the contract is signed, requiring a vendor to issue a notice of changes at least 21 days before completion, allowing a purchaser to rescind the contract if there are negative consequential changes, and extending the cooling-off period from five business days to ten days. The bill also seeks to remove barriers to electronic land transactions by expressly permitting the electronic signing and witnessing of deeds.

The Parliamentary Secretary (Mr Clarke) introduced the bill and gave the second reading speech on behalf of Minister Harwin (see Hansard for a transcript of his speech). At the conclusion of the speech, debate was adjourned for five days.

Adjournment debate

The following members spoke to the adjournment debate:

  • Ms Voltz – Health and Social Media
  • Mr Brown – Recreational Fishing
  • Mr Amato – Aquaculture Industry
  • Mr Wong – Multiculturalism
  • Mr Mallard – Intercity Train Fleet
  • Mr Moselmane– National Indigenous Human Rights Awards

See Hansard for details of the debate.