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Supplementary Order Paper No 344

No 344

House of Representatives

Supplementary Order Paper

Wednesday, 5 April 2023

Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Bill

Proposed amendments

Hon Eugenie Sage, in Committee, to move the following amendments:

Clause 34

Replace clause 34(4) (page 19, lines 4 and 5) with:

(4)

sections 7 to 21 and Schedule 2 are repealed on the longer of:

(a)

close of 31 August 2023:

(b)

any other period specified by a resolution of the House of Representatives.

(4A)

A resolution under subsection (4)(b):

(a)

must be made prior to 31 August 2023; and

(b)

may only specify a period of 90 days after 31 August 2023 or the date of the most recent resolution.

(4B)

A resolution under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

(4C)

The Clerk of the House of Representatives must lodge a copy of the resolution with the Parliamentary Counsel Office for the purpose of publication under the Legislation Act 2019.

Explanatory note

This Supplementary Order Paper amends the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Bill to change the repeal date of particular provisions of the Bill.

The Bill repeals different parts of the Act at different times. The power for Ministers to make Orders in Council under clauses 7 to 21 and Schedule 2 continues for three years until 31 March 2026. It would provide for greater parliamentary scrutiny if Parliament had the ability to debate and extend the application of the Bill and these powers every three months. The amendment repeals clause 7 to 21 and Schedule 2 by 31 August 2023 unless the House of Representatives resolves to continue them within that period, or any other period it choses. The COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 included a similar mechanism for Parliament to resolve to continue its emergency powers every 90 days, for example.