Mr WILLIAMS (Attorney-General) (6:09 PM) —I move:

That the bill be now read a second time.

This bill continues the `statute stocktake' foreshadowed in the government's law and justice policy, and started with the Statute Law Revision Act 1996. The government recognises that the parliament, as the primary law-maker, must bear a direct responsibility for maintenance and repair of Commonwealth statute law. The past 25 years have seen a dramatic increase in the volume, complexity and reach of Commonwealth law. Legislation impacts much more directly and significantly on all aspects of daily life. Whether it is family law, social security assistance, business regulation, environmental laws or taxation, the federal parliament affects our actions in business, socially, industrially and personally. Indeed, today the expectation is that when a new issue arises within a Commonwealth head of power, like native title, the parliament will step in to pass legislation to cover the field and reduce uncertainty.

Perhaps not surprisingly, there are now over 1,300 Commonwealth acts on the statute book. But we cannot just pass more and more legislation without re-examining our existing laws on a regular and ongoing basis to assess their suitability and continuing necessity. In 1997 I wrote to portfolio ministers asking them, as the first stage of the statute stocktake, to identify legislation which was no longer required and could therefore be repealed. The stocktake has revealed many redundant acts still on the statute book. This bill will repeal 95 principal or stand-alone acts that are still on the statute book despite having no further operation. This will reduce the total number of substantive acts on the statute book by over seven per cent.

The bill also includes provisions to make consequential amendments, and transitional and saving provisions relating to the repeals. The consequential amendments will remove references to the repealed acts and ensure that other acts can continue to operate properly despite those repeals. The transitional and saving provisions will ensure that the repeals do not have any adverse effects on existing rights. This bill repeals redundant laws as recommended by the Small Business Deregulation Task Force. It is also a further important contribution to the government's policy of reviewing and repairing the statute book.

Although of itself an important exercise, this is but the first stage of the stocktake process. Ministers and their departments have also been asked to identify legislation for repair. Further work will continue to be undertaken to give effect to this ongoing commitment to clean up our laws. The repair of legislation is politically a low profile task which does not attract much attention from the media. Some might see it as a thankless task. It requires hard work, dedication and commitment. The coalition is doing what Labor failed to do in government.

The winners, however, are all Australians. Whether it is small business taking out a franchise, a public company developing a major infrastructure proposal, an Aboriginal receiving Abstudy assistance to go to university or a family qualifying for the savings rebate, we all benefit from clearer, more accessible law. The bill, and further changes we have initiated, reflects our commitment to reducing the volume of legislation, minimising the complexity of Commonwealth law and ensuring that new legislation takes into account the impact on our citizens. The bill is expected to have no financial impact on the Commonwealth. I present the explanatory memorandum to the bill.

Debate (on motion by Mr Tanner) adjourned.