Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

My colleague the member for Stirling has opposition responsibilities for this legislation, but he is absent from parliament today on parental leave. He and his wife, Georgina, have just had a baby boy, William. So, while sending him my congratulations, I note that his absence means I have responsibility for the opposition’s response to this legislation. On the face of it, the Statute Law Revision Bill (No. 2) 2010 is unlikely to generate much public debate or indeed any public interest. But every bill presented to this parliament deserves considered analysis, and so I will try to give this bill appropriate scrutiny—its moment in the sun, its 15 minutes of Warholian fame.

According to the explanatory memorandum, the main purposes of the bill are to correct technical errors that have occurred in acts as a result of drafting and clerical mistakes, and to remove references to specific ministers and departments so that when changes are made to the Administrative Arrangements Order legislation does not need to be amended. The bill also contains amendments to modernise language, to ensure consistency of language and to make other technical amendments in certain legislation. The bill also repeals a number of acts that are obsolete. My interest was immediately sparked by the provisions regarding the names of ministers. It seems that it will make it so much easier for the Prime Minister to correct those fundamental errors that she made when first announcing her cabinet after the election. Colleagues will remember that she had to make a number of hasty amendments. Through sloppy administration or oversight—or perhaps it was a deliberate dig at some of her colleagues—she had to make a number of changes.

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