Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet) Share this | Hansard source

I thank all members for their contribution to this debate—in particular the member for Burt. I know he's very interested in these matters, and his contribution can only be described as an audition for the position of shadow Attorney-General after the election. The government is committed to ensuring the continued improvement of the Australian legal system. The introduction of the Courts and Tribunals Legislation Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill 2021 is another step the government is taking to ensure that our legal system keeps pace with community expectations.

Importantly, this bill will improve the administration of the Australian federal courts and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, known as the AAT. It makes a number of amendments to enhance the operation of the AAT and harmonise procedures across most of its divisions. The amendments impact the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975, the Military Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2004, the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and a number of pieces of legislation in the Families and Social Services portfolio.

The bill amends the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 and the Judiciary Act 1903 to modernise practices, which will produce efficiencies in the hearing of matters. It makes minor amendments to the Federal Court of Australia Act, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999, the Family Law Act 1975 and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021, to clarify that hearings conducted remotely using videoconferencing technology are exercised in open court. This clarification is particularly important due to the broader use of remote hearings since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bill makes amendments to the Foreign States Immunities Act 1985 to clarify the application of this act to ex parte proceedings, to ensure that foreign states are afforded appropriate procedural immunities. Furthermore, the bill similarly extends these procedural protections to proceedings relating to the recognition of enforcement of a foreign award against a foreign state, pursuant to the International Arbitration Act 1974.

The bill also clarifies that the Admiralty Rules 1988 are rules of court, and it applies certain provisions in the Legislation Act 2003 to the operation of those rules. This will exempt the rules from sunsetting but require that they be registered and published. This aligns the treatment of the Admiralty Rules with the rules of the Federal Court.

The bill repeals the Nauru (High Court Appeals) Act 1976, which was enacted to give effect to the agreement between the Australian government and the government of the Republic of Nauru for appeals to the High Court of Australia from certain classes of decisions in the Supreme Court of Nauru. This agreement was terminated on 13 March 2018, and as such the act is longer required.

The primary intention of this bill is to improve the efficiency and operation of the AAT and to clarify and improve the operations of our federal courts. Ultimately, this will benefit those Australians seeking to resolve disputes in our legal system I commend the bill to the House.

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