The purpose of this Bill is to amend a number of Acts, to help rectify some specific operational and technical anomalies. The Bill also allows changes for gender specific language and the correction of typographical and drafting errors.

The commencement provision of the Transport and Communications Legislation Amendment Act (No.2) 1992 is being amended to overcome a technical difficulty that prevents a Proclamation being made for the commencement of amendments to the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983. Those amendments relate to the discharge of sewage and disposal of garbage from ships in the Antarctic area.

Currently, the commencement provision provides that the relevant provisions commence on a date to be fixed by Proclamation, being the day on which the Protocol on Environment Protection to the Antarctic Treaty enters into force. The Protocol entered into force on 14 January 1998. Insufficient notice of the entering into force of the Protocol was provided to enable a Proclamation to be made by that date. The amendment removes references to the Protocol. It is anticipated that Proclamation will be made soon after this Bill receives Royal Assent.

Schedules 2 and 3 of the Bill will make almost identical amendments to the Christmas Island Act 1958 and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955. The amendments will remove the reference to a court of Western Australia, which has been abolished, and will make changes in relation to industrial disputes and repeal obsolete provisions relating to the removal and return to the Territories of accused persons and prisoners.

Those sections of the Christmas Island Act and the Cocos (Keeling) Act, which extended the provisions in the Workplace Relations Act 1996 relating to industrial disputes to the Territories, will be repealed and replaced. This change will permit those Western Australian employees, who are employed by Western Australian employers, to work in the Territories under the same industrial relations regime as they would when they are working in Western Australia. The new provisions will exclude the operation of the provisions relating to industrial disputes, the additional operation of the Workplace Relations Act in relation to certified agreements, the provisions relating to unfair dismissals and the provisions relating to AWAs from Western Australian employees who work wholly or mainly in the Territory.

A further amendment contained in the Bill relates to the Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988, which currently requires that the full-time member (normally the Chief Executive) must be present at meetings of the National Capital Authority for there to be a quorum.

The amendments in this Bill remove the requirement for the full-time member to be present at meetings for there to be a quorum when the full-time member has disclosed a pecuniary interest.

The Chief Executive of the National Capital Authority is normally employed full-time and, together with the part-time members (the Chairperson and three other members), is subject to the requirements of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.

The amendments are designed to meet the situation where a full-time Chief Executive of the Authority or a full-time Chairperson is the member who declares a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in a matter to be considered by the Authority and is therefore unable to be present at any deliberation of the Authority with respect to that matter. In that situation, under the current legislation, a meeting of the Authority cannot be held unless the Minister appoints a person to the acting position of full-time member or if, the Minister or the Authority determines that the member can be present.

Under the amendments proposed, if the full-time member is the Chief Executive and is unable to attend a meeting because of a declared pecuniary interest, a quorum will be formed by the part-time Chairperson and two other members. If the full-time member is also the Chairperson (and the Chief Executive) and is unable to attend a meeting because of a declared pecuniary interest, a quorum will be formed by any three members.

The amendments to the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 provide for a mechanism whereby the Administrator of the Northern Territory may appoint Parliamentary Secretaries. The amendments also prescribe the wording of the oath and affirmation of allegiance to be taken by Parliamentary Secretaries before they enter on the duties of office.

Currently Parliamentary Secretaries in the Northern Territory Government are not members of the Northern Territory Executive Council and are therefore not eligible for remuneration for their services. Under the amendments prescribed, Parliamentary Secretaries will become members of the Northern Territory Executive Council and will receive remuneration, allowances and entitlements as determined by the Remuneration Tribunal.

Finally, the Bill proposes making some miscellaneous amendments to Acts, which contain drafting errors and gender specific language.

The Act is proposed to take affect upon receiving Royal Assent.