EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
1986 No. 289
AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE (POLICE LIAISON ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Section 70 of the Australian Federal Police Act 1979 (“the Act”) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing all matters required or permitted to be prescribed for the purposes of the Act.
The Australian Federal Police (Police Liaison Advisory Committee for the Australian Capital Territory) Regulations (“the Regulations”) have been made for the purposes of sub-section 69(2) of the Act which provides that the constitution and function of the Police Liaison Advisory Committee (“the Committee”) shall be prescribed.
Regulation 4 of the Regulations provides that the Committee shall consist of the Commissioner of Police together with five members of the Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly (“the Assembly”) nominated by the Assembly.
On 30 June 1986, the terms of office of all members of the Assembly expired. Existing Assembly nominees remain members of the Committee because the Regulations provide that Assembly nominees hold office until the first meeting of the Assembly occurring after the first Assembly election occurring after their appointment. It is proposed that the Regulations should be amended to terminate their appointments and allow the Minister to appoint persons to the Committee. This will ensure the Committee has a full membership and that the community is adequately represented pending a decision on the future of the Assembly.
In particular the proposed Australian Federal Police (Police Liaison Advisory Committee for the Australian Capital Territory) Regulations (Amendment) (“the Amending Regulations”) provide
• that the Minister may appoint five members to the Committee, and
• that should the House of Assembly resume, the Committee will again consist of five members of the House instead of the Minister’s appointees.
Details of the Amending Regulations are set out below.
Regulation 1 replaces paragraph 4(1)(b) (which provided that the Committee shall include five members of the Assembly) with a provision which empowers the Minister to appoint five members to the Committee. The regulation also inserts a new
sub-regulation (1A) which provides that where there are persons holding office as members of the Assembly; a person is not to be appointed as a member of the Committee unless that person is a member of the Assembly and nominated by it.
Regulation 2 amends Regulation 5 of the Regulations which deals with the termination of office of Committee members. As amended the Regulation provides that all existing appointments of persons as members of the Committee are terminated from the date of commencement of the Amending Regulations.
The Regulation also provides that a member appointed after the commencement of the Amending Regulations ceases to hold office as a member of the Committee:
• in the case of a member who was appointed while an Assembly member, at the time of the first meeting of the Assembly held after the first Assembly election held after the member’s appointment; or
• in the case of a member who was not a member of the Assembly when appointed, at the time of
- the first meeting of the Assembly held after the first Assembly election held after the member’s appointment; or
- the expiry of three years from the date of the member’s appointment,
whichever first occurs.