Pugh MaureenMAUREEN PUGH (National): I too stand in support of the Courts Matters Bill and the Tribunals Powers and Procedures Legislation Bill in their first readings here today. It is quite a nostalgic day as we recognise that the Justice and Electoral Committee under the guidance of its chair Sarah Dowie and the Law and Order Committee under the stewardship of Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi will no longer exist when this bill is referred in the new Parliament. Presumably the select committee will be then called the Super Justice Committee" or just the Justice and Electoral Committee.This legislation is very much in line with the Government's direction in its tidying-up of old legislation bringing the language into modern language and streamlining some of the processes taking into account the modern world that we do live in today. We are going to be streamlining some of the powers and procedures that the tribunals and the courts undertake—especially in the tribunals. We have heard from Louisa Wall the previous speaker that there are 21 tribunals administered by the Ministry of Justice. They all have a common set of powers and procedures to operate under and this certainly will create some administrative efficiencies.We have also heard today about the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal and its ability to now take even stronger action to award compensation of up to $100000 for financial losses. That will be significant for that sector. Also the Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority will be able to discipline its licensees and its certificate holders if they are found to be in breach of their conduct—in conduct unbecoming for that trade such as bullying or other forms of misconduct.The legislation also sets out to disestablish one defunct tribunal. As the Minister for Courts Amy Adams pointed out earlier today the Birdlings Flat Land Titles Commissioner is in her district. I note that Birdlings Flat is close to the shores of Lake Ellesmere and it was named after the Birdling family who were the first European settlers to farm the area there. Of significance to me is that it is also the place that I caught my very first fish. I am very famous for my fishing down there at Birdlings Flat. This legislation also disestablishes other tribunals: the boards of appeal under the Health Act of 1956 and the Maritime Appeal Authority under the Maritime Transport Act of 1994.This Government is not afraid of creating efficiencies and transparency within any of the organisations that we take responsibility for and especially not in our courts and tribunals. So we are quite happy that these changes will better reflect the needs of today by creating some timely and specialist dispute resolution outside the court system.The legislation also aims to improve the tribunals' scope to hear cases and again that will make them more accessible for dispute resolution. It will also provide better consumer protection and redress for people because these tribunals are simply quicker and cheaper alternatives to going off to a very time-consuming and expensive court case.The amendments to fine enforcement also improve customer services in the courts and productivity and they also give credibility to the fines regime. I know there are quite a few stories that we hear about people who have had a fine imposed on them but sometimes it is quite difficult for the courts to recover those fines so this sets out to make that more efficient.This Government has also implemented other reforms to our justice system recently. This makes it easier for people to understand to participate in and to use it; it provides the flexibility and responsiveness that we would expect from our judicial system; and of course it is transparent. These bills I have great pleasure in supporting and I commend them to the House."