Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

In summing up, I would like to thank the members for their contributions to the debate. The Legislative Instruments Act (Sunsetting) Bill 2011 is an important bill. It provides for the accountability mechanisms that apply in the making of legislative instruments as well as ensuring that all subordinate legislation is able to be accessed through an online register, the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. The bill also provides for the eventual sunsetting—that is, automatic ceasing of the legislative instruments. Sunsetting ensures that there is a review of the continuing need for legislative instruments after 10 years of operation. This bill makes a minor and important change to the rules as they apply to instruments which commenced with retrospective effect. The effect of this change will be to allow such instruments to operate for a full 10 years before they sunset. This is consistent with the intended operation of the sunsetting provisions of the bill.

I note that the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs has prepared an advisory report on this bill. The report did not identify any issues in relation to the bill and recommends unanimously that it be passed by the House without amendment. I thank the committee for its consideration of the bill and I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that the bill be reported to the House without amendment.

See this speech in context