Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:40): I would just like to say a couple of words about the Alert Digest No. 10, and while I concur with much of what Mrs McArthur has said, this has been very difficult for the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee (SARC) to produce that scrutiny in a timely fashion given the nature of these bills and the urgency with which they have been going through the house. I think some consolation can be drawn from Alert Digest No. 10 in that the amendments that were put to the COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2020 were scrutinised and were reflected upon by the experts who assist us on that committee, and they did find that the amendments to that bill and the consequences of those amendments left them with no concerns about breaches to the charter. So I think we can certainly look at the review of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities—from 2015, I believe—which made a number of recommendations on how SARC could operate more effectively. I think given the experiences of SARC at this point it would behove the government and it would be a good idea to go back and look at those recommendations and how we can ensure that the house is properly informed about the effect on the charter that bills that come before us have in a timely way.
