STATUTES AMENDMENT AND REPEAL (BUDGET 2012) (NO. 2) BILL
27/11/2012
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (16:25): I wish to make a brief second reading contribution on the bill. I refer to one section of the bill that remains a significant stumbling block for the Dignity for Disability Party. This is the third time, as has already been said, that the government has tried to amend the Summary Procedure Act 1921 using what is a rather stealthy method, and I assure you that in this case third time is not a charm.
I will not detain the council for long, as my colleagues and indeed the legal community have already outlined many of the issues, but I will put on the record that, to the mind of the Dignity for Disability Party, this is not an acceptable manner for dealing with this issue and we resent the government trying to remove the rights of innocent people using this method. As the Law Society and Australian Lawyers Alliance have both detailed in correspondence with members of parliament, this is an incursion on basic rights and in stark contrast with what has been an accepted practice for many years now.
I appreciate the government has now amended the bill by placing a cap on costs that can be awarded at $2,000, but it remains an offensive attempt to limit the rights of people to costs that they duly deserve. It is not appropriate for the government to set limits or make decisions on what costs should be awarded, that is a matter for the courts to decide. The bill seems to presume that people are guilty until proven innocent, denying all principles of natural justice.
If the government is so desperate to save money in the state budget that it would suggest this measure, I suggest that instead it perhaps consider looking at the $535 million it is spending on the Adelaide Oval upgrade. In short, I do not and cannot support the second reading of this bill in its current form.
