Gary Humphries (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Brown wants us to affirm that it is only the federal parliament. He would be arguing that it is both chambers of parliament. Senator Brown is arguing that only the parliament should exercise that power. I acknowledge that is what he wants, but there is nothing to stop the federal parliament from passing laws which delegate that power to the federal executive. Indeed, that is precisely what the federal parliament has done. In 1988, when it passed the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act, it delegated to the federal executive, under section 35, the power to disallow ACT enactments in whole or in part or to even recommend amendments to the Legislative Assembly to legislation that it might pass. So it does have that power. That is outlined in the act which the federal parliament has passed. It is a well-understood constitutional principle that if the Constitution grants a power to the federal parliament it has the capacity to delegate that power, and it has done so in this case. If Senator Brown believes that there is a constitutional argument against section 35 of the self-government act being invalid, I would be interested in hearing it, but he did not make that case in his presentation speech.