COVID-19 RESPONSE AND
ECONOMIC RECOVERY OMNIBUS BILL 2020
806. Hon PETER COLLIER to
the minister representing Minister for Planning:
I ask this question on behalf of Hon
Tjorn Sibma, who is on urgent parliamentary business.
I
note that the minister yesterday maintained her position in respect of the now
abandoned part 7 provisions of the COVID-19 Response and Economic
Recovery Omnibus Bill 2020 that ''There are no current plans for the
State Government to introduce this clause in a separate Bill.''
(1) Is the minister aware of
contrary advice provided by the government?
(2) Is work
proceeding, or has work concluded, on drafting a modified version of the part 7
provisions for inclusion in a separate bill?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank Hon Tjorn Sibma for some
notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by the
Minister for Planning.
(1)–(2) The
honourable member is referring to an email sent from the minister's
office to the Liberal Party in good faith on 11 August 2020, as part of
consultation on a potential bill that had not been introduced into Parliament
and was still being drafted. The email noted there would be future cabinet
deliberations on the separate bill. There are no current plans for the state
government to introduce this separate bill. Whether the part 7 provisions are sought in future will depend on the evolving
circumstances related to the pandemic. The suggestion that a selective
quote in an email from 11 August 2020 reflects the current government position
is false, as the honourable member should be aware and has been advised.