Title read by Clerk. MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Deputy Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Capital Metro, Minister for Health, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for the Environment and Climate Change) (5.13): I move: That this bill be agreed to in principle. I am pleased to present the Discrimination Amendment Bill 2016. This bill is a progressive but balanced of legislation, which builds on the government’s commitment to promoting an inclusive society where everyone has the opportunity to participate in, and contribute to, our community. The bill draws on recommendations made by the ACT Law Reform Advisory Council, LRAC, following an extensive inquiry into the scope and operation of the Discrimination Act 1991. I would like to thank the council, particularly its chair, Professor Simon Rice AM, for its efforts in producing this high quality report that provides an ambitious vision for reform to discrimination law in the ACT. The government has chosen to adopt a staged approach to considering the recommendations in the report. It is important that we do not rush reforms to this act. It is a fundamental and cross-cutting piece of legislation that gives practical effect to many of the rights in our ACT human rights law. The Discrimination Amendment Bill therefore includes changes identified as suitable for initial introduction as part of a first stage. The amendments in this bill are about clarifying the objects and application of the existing protections and processes, and promoting consistency with developments in other jurisdictions. New protected attributes are also included, reflecting changing community values. Protections against victimisation and vilification in this bill are enhanced. I will now turn to the provisions of the bill itself, and give a brief outline of their operation. The bill amends the objects of the Discrimination Act to explicitly refer to the right to equality and non-discrimination in the Human Rights Act. The objects are refocused into high level aims of eliminating discrimination to the greatest extent possible and in all forms; specific references to gender equality and sexual harassment in particular are removed. The objects recognise that the aim of discrimination law is not just the application of the same laws or conditions to everyone, but that substantive equality and equity must be progressively realised through the making of reasonable adjustments, reasonable accommodations and taking special measures to overcome existing social and economic disadvantage. The bill includes a new explicit requirement that the act be interpreted in a way that is beneficial to people who have protected attributes to the degree that the interpretation is consistent with the objects of the act, the Rights Act and other rules of
Title read by Clerk. MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Deputy Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Capital Metro, Minister for Health, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for the Environment and Climate Change) (5.13): I move: That this bill be agreed to in principle. I am pleased to present the Discrimination Amendment Bill 2016. This bill is a progressive but balanced of legislation, which builds on the government’s commitment to promoting an inclusive society where everyone has the opportunity to participate in, and contribute to, our community. The bill draws on recommendations made by the ACT Law Reform Advisory Council, LRAC, following an extensive inquiry into the scope and operation of the Discrimination Act 1991. I would like to thank the council, particularly its chair, Professor Simon Rice AM, for its efforts in producing this high quality report that provides an ambitious vision for reform to discrimination law in the ACT. The government has chosen to adopt a staged approach to considering the recommendations in the report. It is important that we do not rush reforms to this act. It is a fundamental and cross-cutting piece of legislation that gives practical effect to many of the rights in our ACT human rights law. The Discrimination Amendment Bill therefore includes changes identified as suitable for initial introduction as part of a first stage. The amendments in this bill are about clarifying the objects and application of the existing protections and processes, and promoting consistency with developments in other jurisdictions. New protected attributes are also included, reflecting changing community values. Protections against victimisation and vilification in this bill are enhanced. I will now turn to the provisions of the bill itself, and give a brief outline of their operation. The bill amends the objects of the Discrimination Act to explicitly refer to the right to equality and non-discrimination in the Human Rights Act. The objects are refocused into high level aims of eliminating discrimination to the greatest extent possible and in all forms; specific references to gender equality and sexual harassment in particular are removed. The objects recognise that the aim of discrimination law is not just the application of the same laws or conditions to everyone, but that substantive equality and equity must be progressively realised through the making of reasonable adjustments, reasonable accommodations and taking special measures to overcome existing social and economic disadvantage. The bill includes a new explicit requirement that the act be interpreted in a way that is beneficial to people who have protected attributes to the degree that the interpretation is consistent with the objects of the act, the Rights Act and other rules of
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