PUBLIC HEALTH AMENDMENT
(SAFE ACCESS ZONES) BILL 2021
316. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the minister representing the
Minister for Health:
I refer to the Public Health
Amendment (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2021.
(1) How does the bill differ from that which was
introduced into the Legislative Assembly on 14 October 2020?
(2) What
consultation has taken place on the bill with relevant stakeholders since the
bill was first introduced in October 2020 to date?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable
member for some notice of the question.
(1) Besides a few
editorial changes, only one minor change was made to the previous bill that was
introduced into the Legislative Assembly last year—the removal of
proposed section 306C, ''Laying reports before House of Parliament not
sitting''. It was a procedural provision not related to the substantial
safe access zones provisions that required the minister to send their report on
the review of the bill—prepared after its fifth anniversary—to
the Clerk of the House, if, in the minister's opinion, a house of
Parliament will not sit during the period of 21 days after finalisation of the
report. That provision was originally added to the previous bill at the request
of the Parliamentary Counsel's Office.
(2) Following the consultation report Safe access
zones—A proposal for reform in Western Australia published
last year, updated information was sought from the two main WA abortion
clinics, Marie Stopes and Nanyara Medical Group, and WA Police Force.