Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

Mr Acting Deputy President, I seek leave to make a statement in relation to the report of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights that was tabled.

Leave granted.

I missed the report being tabled, but I do want to make some brief remarks about what is becoming a very important Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. Processes are being developed for the committee to develop a robust framework in order to discharge its obligations.

In this second report of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights the committee has considered nine bills that were introduced during the period 14 August to 23 August 2012. As well as those bills we have also considered 146 legislative instruments registered with the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments between 23 July and 22 August 2012.

Three of the bills do not engage human rights.

One bill was introduced with a statement of compatibility claiming the bill does not engage human rights but for which the committee considers it requires further information before it is able to form its own view. A further bill was introduced without a statement of compatibility.

In each of those cases the committee proposes to write to the relevant minister and seek clarification before considering the bills further.

The remaining four bills engage human rights. The committee considers that one of these bills is compatible with the rights engaged and that it requires further information to assist in its consideration of the remaining three bills.

Once again, I would like to emphasise that the committee seeks to work constructively with the proponents of bills as they familiarise themselves with the requirements of developing a statement of compatibility.

The committee is particularly mindful of the needs of private members and senators in this regard. Private members and senators do not have the benefit of the resources of departments to support them as they familiarise themselves with the new requirements. We urge private members and senators to contact the committee secretariat to seek assistance in locating relevant reference material and templates. In fact, the committee has been considering how it can assist more in this way and is working on some practice notes to assist members and senators and their staff in drafting those statements of compatibility.

In considering its first tranche of legislative instruments, the committee notes that most of the instruments do not raise human rights compatibility concerns and have been registered with statements of compatibility that the committee considers to be adequate.

However, a number of instruments have been introduced with statements of compatibility that do not fully meet the committee's expectations. As the instruments in question do not raise human rights compatibility concerns, the committee proposes to write to the relevant ministers in a purely advisory capacity providing guidance on the preparation of statements of compatibility.

The committee hopes that this approach will assist in the preparation of future statements of compatibility that conform more completely to the committee's expectations.

The committee has identified six instruments that it considers appear to be compatible with human rights but for which it proposes to seek further clarification from the relevant minister.

We have continued our good work and we continue to shape the environment and the framework in which we will consider the legislation as required under the act. I would like, again, to take the opportunity to place on record my thanks to the chair, Mr Harry Jenkins MP, and all of the other members of the committee, including those here in the Senate, who have been very diligent and seriously minded about discharging their duties and the work of the committee. I thank the Senate.