Finlayson ChristopherSTATUTES AMENDMENT BILLSecond ReadingHon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General) on behalf of the Deputy Leader of the House: I move That the Statutes Amendment Bill be now read a second time. As the House knows this bill enables Parliament to make technical short and non-controversial amendments to a number of Acts. It enables amendments that would not usually receive sufficient priority to be progressed individually and this of course is achieved only with the support of all parties in Parliament. The current bill as reported back by the Government Administration Committee amends 26 Acts administered by 13 different Government agencies. Each of the amendments in the bill has received unanimous cross-party support and is a great demonstration of parties working together. It was reported back by the Government Administration Committee on 21 June 2016 and I thank the select committee for its very careful consideration of the bill. The committee received and considered five submissions from interested groups. The report recommended changes to the proposed amendments to one Act the insertion of an additional amendment to another Act and the removal of two amendments and I support each of these recommendations. The committee recommended changes to clauses in the bill amending the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988. The Law Society suggested changes to clarify common practices about the operation of the legislation and update the wording of the Act. The committee recommended an amendment in a new section regarding the witnessing of donor signatures of an enduring power of attorney. The committee considered the clause as introduced would set a higher standard for lawyers in certifying that no conflict of interest arises than is required under the rules that set out the ethical obligations of lawyers. These changes will make the legislation more effective and efficient for lawyers and donors—and of course we all like efficiency for lawyers. The committee also recommended inserting a new amendment to the Employment Relations Act 2000. This change will address a drafting error in the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2016 which incorrectly referred to a section of the principal Act. The changes will ensure that employees are able correctly to pursue a personal grievance where their employer has not provided the employee with either notice of a cancelled shift or compensation if no notice is given. The committee recommended removing the amendment to the Victims' Orders Against Violent Offenders Act 2014 from the bill. The Victims' Orders Against Violent Offenders Act 2014 introduced a new civil order called a non-contact order which is designed to reduce the likelihood of serious violent and sexual offenders coming into contact with their victims. The intention of the amendment was to give judges clear statutory authority to clear the court and restrict publication of proceedings when applications under the Act were being heard. The committee considered the amendment was not appropriate for inclusion in a statutes amendment bill and has divided the amendment into a separate bill. Finally the committee recommended removing the amendment to the Charities Act 2005 from the bill. The bill proposed several amendments to the Charities Act that were assessed by the committee as not adequately meeting the criteria for inclusion in a statutes amendment bill. The committee has divided the proposed amendments to the Charities Act into a separate bill and the committee is currently considering further submissions to it. So I endorse the recommendations of the committee. The bill proposes a number of changes to the statute book that are technical and that are short and non-controversial. Again I thank the committee for its considered work and I commend the bill to the House.