In the House – Thursday 12 October 2023

Six bills were before the Legislative Council on Thursday – three being introduced in the chamber, and another three being passed. The bills agreed to included one to support children in giving evidence before The District Court, a bill making changes to the state’s work health and safety legislation, and another to include the strategic aims of icare in law. Read on for more… 

INTRODUCED: STRATA LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2023 

The Strata Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 seeks to amend the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 and the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 to begin implementing recommendations from the statutory review of the Acts completed in November 2021. It would also make related changes to the Community Land Development Act 2021 and the Community Land Management Act 2021 – which are similar to the state’s strata legislation, but cover the operation of community land schemes (another framework under which community living on subdivided land can be governed). 

The bill was introduced by Parliamentary Secretary the Hon Mark Buttigieg on behalf of the Hon Penny Sharpe. In his second reading speech, Mr Buttigieg said the bill would amend the four acts to ensure community land scheme laws remain in step with strata laws, and cover 31 of the statutory review’s 130+ recommendations – flagging further legislation to come. The bill’s changes include those to the governance and accountability measures within strata and community land schemes; changes to strata renewal and related requirements; conflict of interest disclosure requirements and more. Full details can be seen in Mr Buttigieg’s speech here and also here. 

Following the introduction of the bill, debate was adjourned for five calendar days according to standing order. 

INTRODUCED: CLIMATE CHANGE (NET ZERO FUTURE) BILL 2023 – AND A RELATED INQUIRY 

The Climate Change (Net Zero Future) Bill 2023 was introduced by Minister for Climate Change the Hon Penny Sharpe. The bill seeks to set targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in NSW, to establish guiding principles for action to address climate change, and to establish the independent Net Zero Commission to monitor, review and provide advice on progress towards these targets. 

The targets set by the bill to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions include a 50 per cent reduction from 2005 figures by 30 June 2030, and the goal of net zero by 30 June 2050. 

Find further details on the bill in the Minister’s second reading speech. 

According to standing order, after its introduction in the chamber, debate on the bill was adjourned for five calendar days. However according to ‘contingent notice’ given by the Minister the previous day, Minister Sharpe then moved that the bill be referred to the House’s Planning and Environment Committee for inquiry and report, which was agreed on the voices. You can find more about the inquiry here. An online questionnaire for the inquiry remains open until 23 October. 

Did you know? All motions in the House require notice to be given the previous day, unless otherwise specifically provided for in the standing orders. This ensures procedural fairness for all members. A ‘contingent notice’ is a notice given at a prior sitting that enables a member to warn the the House that, on a specific event occurring (for example, the debate on a bill being adjourned), they will move for something else to occur that would not otherwise be allowed under the rules (in this case, permission to move for the bill to be referred to a committee). This enables the member to comply with the requirement for notice to be given, even though they don’t know when the specific event which they are waiting for will take place. 

INTRODUCED: BUILDING LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2023 

Also introduced by the Hon Penny Sharpe on Thursday was the Building Legislation Amendment Bill 2023. This bill would make several changes to various building legislation and other legislation administered by the Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, and the Minister for Building. 

Among the bill’s amendments are those to change the process for investigating building defects and to create duties to ensure the safety of building products. The bill also seeks to allow the immediate suspension of a builder’s or certifier’s registration in certain circumstances, after a ‘show cause’ notice is given. It would also allow for the percentage price that strata developers contribute to a building’s insurance to be prescribed by regulation, and enable information sharing between government sector agencies under the Building and Development Certifiers Act 2018 and the Home Building Act 1989. Read further details on the bill in the Minister’s second reading speech. 

After its introduction in the chamber, the bill was adjourned for five calendar days according to standing order.  

PASSED: CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AMENDMENT (CHILD SEXUAL OFFENCE EVIDENCE) BILL 2023 

Passed by the Legislative Assembly earlier in the week, the Criminal Procedure Amendment (Child Sexual Offence Evidence) Bill 2023 was introduced in the Council by Parliamentary Secretary the Hon Anthony D’Adam on behalf of the Hon Daniel Mookhey.  

The bill amends the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 to support children giving evidence in child sexual abuse proceedings before the District Court by: 

• Allowing a child who is a complainant or prosecution witness to give evidence through a pre-recorded evidence hearing without the presence of a jury, and 

• Providing for the appointment of a ‘witness intermediary’ for witnesses under 16 or who have trouble communicating. This person would act as a go-between, facilitating communication between the witness and the court. 

In his second reading speech, Mr D’Adam noted these measures have already been trialled in the Child Sexual Offence Evidence Program and have been available to child complainants and prosecution witnesses in select locations since 2016. The success of this program led to the introduction of this bill, which will ensure that pre-recorded evidence hearings and witness intermediaries are available in every District Court location and Police District in NSW. 

Further details of the bill can be found in Mr D’Adam’s second reading speech.  

During the second reading debate, contributions were made by members of The Greens, the Opposition, and the Government. See all members’ contributions in the Hansard record.  

Both the second and third readings of the bill were agreed to on voices, with the bill then returned to the Legislative Assembly, ready for the Governor’s assent. 

PASSED: WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY AMENDMENT BILL 2023 

The Work Health and Safety Amendment Bill 2023 arrived in the Council on Thursday after passing in the Legislative Assembly earlier in the week. The Hon Mark Buttigieg, Parliamentary Secretary, introduced the bill on behalf of the Hon Daniel Mookhey. 

The bill amends the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 to incorporate recent changes made to the national Model Work, Health and Safety Act. While work health and safety laws are legislated separately in each state and territory across Australia, this model aims to harmonise work health and safety (WHS) laws in most Australian jurisdictions. 

The July 2023 amendments to the Model Work, Health and Safety Act published by Safe Work Australia incorporated into this bill include: 

• Increasing penalty amounts under the Act  
• Further provisions for the liability of bodies corporate for employee conduct  
• Changes to the powers and responsibilities of inspectors  

• Changes to prohibited asbestos notices  
• Providing clarity around when a person is prohibited from taking out insurance for penalties imposed under the WHS Act. 

Importantly, the bill also establishes a silica worker register to monitor the health of workers exposed to silica dust. In his second reading speech, Mr Buttigieg discussed how this register would function for health screening, to assist with research into silica dust diseases, and to track the experiences of stone workers exposed to silica dust and other high-risk workers. The bill also incorporates penalty changes under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 which, in his second reading speech, Mr Buttigieg noted had a particular impact on the work health and safety of food delivery drivers. Further details of the bill can be found in Mr Buttigieg’s second reading speech. Both matters have been subject of considerable attention from Legislative Council committees over a number of years. 

During the second reading debate, contributions were made by members of the Opposition, the Legalise Cannabis Party, The Greens, and the Government. See all member’s contributions in the Hansard record.  

When the House resolved into committee of the whole, one amendment was moved by Ms Abigail Boyd on behalf of The Greens, which sought to remove a provision that would make a police officer an authorised officer related to the work health and safety of food delivery drivers. This was negatived on the voices. The full committee of the whole proceedings can be read here. 

Both the second and third readings of the bill were agreed to on voices, with the bill then returned to the Legislative Assembly, ready for the Governor’s assent. 

PASSED: State Insurance and Care Governance Amendment (ICNSW Governance) Bill 2023 

The State Insurance and Care Governance Amendment (ICNSW Governance) Bill 2023 was also introduced by Parliamentary Secretary the Hon Mark Buttigieg on behalf of the Hon Daniel Mookhey, having passed the Legislative Assembly earlier in the week.  

The bill makes changes to the State Insurance and Care Governance Act 2015 in relation to the governance of icare, by inserting into the Act information about icare’s statutory objectives. In short, these ‘principal objectives’ include maintaining the affordability of insurance and the efficiency and viability if the state insurance and compensation schemes; promoting early and appropriate treatment and care for injury and illness; and promoting efficiency, transparency and accountability in icare’s operations. The bill also allows the Treasurer to direct icare to provide information relating to the corporation, and makes changes to advice provided by the icare board to the Minister for Work Health and Safety. Further details can be found in Mr Buttigieg’s second reading speech. 

During debate, contributions were heard from members of the Opposition, The Greens, the Government and Independent the Hon Rod Roberts. With the second and third readings agreed to on the voices, the bill was then returned to the Assembly, ready for the Governor’s assent. Find full proceedings in Hansard here. 

NEW INQUIRY INTO PROCUREMENT PRACTICES 

On Thursday, the Hon Dr Sarah Kaine (Labor), as Chair of the Council’s Social Issues Committee, advised the House of a new inquiry into the procurement practices of government agencies in NSW, and their impact on the social development of people in the state. Dr Kaine reported that the inquiry was adopted by the committee following a reference from the Minister for Finance, the Hon Courtney Houssos. Learn about the different ways inquiries can be established here. 

Submissions for the new inquiry will remain open until January 2024, with details including the official terms of reference available on the inquiry webpage. 

GENERAL MOTIONS 

The following motions were agreed to without debate, during the morning’s formal business: 

• Dementia Action Week 2023, moved by the Hon Aileen MacDonald (Liberal) 
• Comments by Amanda Fazio, moved by the Hon Natalie Ward (Liberal) 
• Country Women’s Association of NSW Awareness Week 2023, moved by the Hon Aileen MacDonald (Liberal) 
• International Day of Rural Women 2023, also moved by Mrs MacDonald  
• International Day of the Girl Child 2023, also moved by Mrs MacDonald  
• Sri Krishna Janmashtami Festival 2023, moved by the Hon Mark Buttigieg (Labor) 

DOCUMENTS TABLED AND REPORTED IN THE HOUSE 

Among the documents tabled on Thursday were statements of public interest accompanying new bills. Find all documents tabled and reported in our Tabled Papers Database.