It gives me great pleasure to rise to speak on this matter.
Clearly it is a matter of housekeeping that we are removing
obsolete legislation from the statute book. It is important to go through each
of the acts that are being repealed, because referring to it just as
housekeeping does not really identify the true nature of the exercise for
someone who has not been able to read the documentation.
For example, there is a long and chequered history to the
Ballaarat Free Library (Borrowing) Act 1938. An Order in Council dated 5
December 1881 permanently reserved parcels of land at Ballarat as a site for a
library, and a number of things happened subsequently. The remaining land is no
longer used as a public library and was surrendered to the Crown in 2003, and
under the Libraries Act 1988 freed of all interests. Essentially it means that
the 1938 act can be repealed. That is just a small example of the reasons we are
today repealing a number of acts.
This bill repeals the Heatherton Sanatorium Act 1944, the
Victorian Relief Committee Act 1958, the Hairdressers Registration (Repeal) Act
1985, the State Relief Committee Act 1986, the Food (Amendment) Act 1991, the
Health and Community Services (Further Amendment) Act 1993, the Food (Amendment)
Act 1994, the Children and Young Persons (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 1994,
the Local Government (Amendment) Act 1994, the Health Acts (Amendment) Act 1995,
the Housing (Amendment) Act 1996, the Children and Young Persons (Miscellaneous
Amendments) Act 1996, the Local Government (Darebin City Council) Act 1998 and
the Local Government (Nillumbik Shire Council) Act 1998.
It covers a whole range of areas in which this Parliament has
authority, ranging from local government, housing, children and young persons,
health, food, state relief and health and community services to the relief
committee act and course the registration of hairdressers. The legislation has
gone through a number of committees.
As I understand it, there is broad support across all political
parties that the removal of the raft of acts repealed by this bill will
streamline the administration of these areas, including some aspects of local
government. I find the comments of the previous speaker quite laughable in some
respects, given what the Kennett government did to local government.
All in all, I wish to commend to the house the changes that are
being proposed by the government. I request that all political parties continue
to support this proposal.
