Little Andrew:Inquiries Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLittle Andrew:Inquiries Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 21 August 2013. Volume:692;Page:12722. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ANDREW LITTLE (Labour):It is a pleasure to take a call on Part 1 of this very important piece of legislation the Inquiries Bill and really to continue on from where the last speaker Holly Walker left off which was to note the distinction between what we have now where we have a law relating to commissions of inquiry and inquiries appointed under the authority of the Governor-General and the existing situation with ministerial inquiries which do not have the same status or standing or certainly gravitas perhaps as commissions of inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act. This bill and subclause (3) of clause 3 in particular repeals section 2 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act which confirms that commissions of inquiry under that Act are convened under the auspices of the Governor-General.This bill once enacted will give a similar status to ministerial inquiries to that which currently applies to commissions of inquiry. As Holly Walker has noted that is a big step but I would say that that is a good step. In addition to the many other enactments that provide for various inquiries—standing commissions of inquiry such as the Independent Police Conduct Authority and Acts that allow inquiries to be established—this bill allows at least in relation to those matters of important public interest that arise from time to time and that fall well under a Minister’s bailiwick the Minister to act with some haste to establish an inquiry that has some authority and that can get to the bottom of those matters.There is no question that as the complexity of Government administration grows mistakes do happenmisjudgments happen and catastrophes happen and the public needs to know that if those sorts of circumstances arise then we have the means and the machinery to ensure that an appropriate inquiry can be established the causes of a particular incident or event can be established and the public confidence can be restored. So that change in subclause (3) of clause 3 the repeal of section 2 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908 is a very important one.I might say that it is quite coincidental that the Government introduced new legislation today for incorporated societies. The Incorporated Societies Act is another piece of 1908 legislation that has stood the test of time. There are not many pieces of 1908 legislation that remain on the statute book. The Trade Unions Act—Louise Upston: This is getting a bit bloody desperate.ANDREW LITTLE: —is another one. These are very important pieces of legislation that have stood the test of time—more than 100 years—and yet here we are repealing these important provisions. I think that reflects—and I think Louise Upstonunderstands and agrees with me—that after more than 100 years circumstances change and that it is important to consider modernity and what we need to do to modernise these pieces of legislation.The other point I wanted to comment on was clause 4 “Interpretation” and the definition given to core participant which actually appears in clause 18 which is in Part 3 of the bill but is referred to in clause 4 by reference. I just want to make this point. I think that that is a worthwhile development—to give an inquiry that is set up under the aegis of this legislation once it is passed to allow the inquiry a ministerial inquiry included to establish who the critical people are whom it needs to talk to so that they are given an immediate standing in terms of participation in the inquiry. I think that will enable inquiries once they are called and set up to get under way very quickly and to get the people who need to be involved quickly involved as well. If there are other participants other people who consider that they ought to be called upon of course they can register their interest and the person who is called upon to conduct the inquiry can very quickly make a judgment about whether those other perhaps slightly more peripheral people should be called upon. But in the meantime it is good that we have core participants identified who can be called upon to make submissions and to give evidence to an inquiry.Of course that goes along with the power that is provided for in this bill set out in clause 3—the new power to compel people to participate in an inquiry as required. That would also obviously include core participants. So these are good and important measures when it comes to restoring public confidence in the Government.