House of Representatives

Second Reading Speech

Mr Hunt (Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science)

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Statute Update Bill 2016 makes minor and technical changes to the Commonwealth statute book to improve its quality and accuracy.

The amendments in the bill update older Commonwealth provisions to reflect changes in the law and ensure the consistency of those provisions with the legal framework in which they operate.

Schedule 1 updates references to dollar penalties for criminal offences. The amendments remove dollar amounts from penalty provisions and replace them with the appropriate number of penalty units. This ensures that the penalty that appears on the face of a statute is the penalty that actually applies.

Schedules 2, 3 and 4 streamline other aspects of penalty provisions, clarify the evidentiary status of certain certificates and registers, and update references to aircraft registered in accordance with the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988.

These amendments enhance readability, facilitate interpretation and administration, and promote consistency across the Commonwealth statute book.

This bill also provides another gripping examples of legislative development for students of legislative process. I commend this bill to the House.