EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Select Legislative Instrument 2008 No. 78
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005
Torres Strait Regional Authority (Election of Officeholders) Amendment Regulations 2008 (No. 1)
The Torres Strait Regional Authority (Election of Officeholders) Regulations (Statutory Regulations 1997 No. 55) (the Principal Regulations) were originally made under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989 (the ATSIC Act) on 19 March 1997. The Principal Regulations deal with the election of the Torres Strait Commissioner and make reference to the appointments of chairpersons of the Island Councils appointed under section 7 of regulations made under the Community Services (Torres Strait) Act 1984 of Queensland (referred to as “the Queensland Act”). The Principal Regulations also make provision for the election of the Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and alternate Deputy Chairperson of the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA).
Following the repeal of the ATSIC Act and its replacement by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 (the ATSI Act), the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was abolished, as was the office of the Torres Strait Commissioner. Consequent to that, no references to the Torres Strait Commissioner are now contained in the ATSI Act. Furthermore, on 22 November 2007 the Queensland Act was replaced by amendments to the Local Government Act 1993 (Qld). These amendments included the abolition of the Island Councils. For the purposes of the ATSI Act, the Local Government Act 1993 is now defined as “the Queensland Act”; relevantly, the ATSI Act specifically provides that the definition of the Queensland Act is “…the Community Services (Torres Strait) Act 1984 of Queensland and includes any law that replaces that Act.”
The purpose of the Torres Strait Regional Authority (Election of Officeholders) Amendment Regulations 2008 (No. 1) (the Amendment Regulations) is to update the Principal Regulations to reflect changes to the legislative regime governing the membership of the TSRA. With the election of 17 of the 20 members of the TSRA having been completed following elections held on 15 March 2008 under the Queensland Act (as now defined under the ATSI Act) and with the remaining three members to be elected under elections to be held on 17 May 2008 under the ATSI Act, it is now timely and opportune to ensure that the Principal Regulations are amended to ensure that they are consistent with the new legislative regime governing the election of members to the TSRA.
The Amendment Regulations also remove obsolete and inoperative provisions from the Principal Regulations resulting from the repeal of the ATSIC Act and its replacement by the ATSI Act. The office of Torres Strait Commissioner was abolished with the repeal of the ATSIC Act.
The Amendment Regulations replace the ATSIC Act with the ATSI Act in the definition of Act. They also omit obsolete definitions of Island Council and Torres Strait Commissioner and references to Island Council chairpersons.
Consultation
The TSRA has been consulted on the drafting of this legislative instrument and has agreed with the amendments to the Principal Regulations.
Regulatory Impact Analysis
The amendments to the Principal Regulations are of a minor or machinery nature and do not substantially alter the existing arrangements.
Explanation of the Amendment Regulations
Regulation 1 specifies the full name of the Amendment Regulations.
Regulation 2 provides that the Amendment Regulations commence on the day after they are registered.
Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 to the Amendment Regulations amends the Principal Regulations.
Item [1] of Schedule 1 to the Amendment Regulations substitutes regulation 1 of the Principal Regulations and re-names the Principal Regulations as the Torres Strait Regional Authority (Election of Officeholders) Regulations 1997 to reflect current drafting practice.
Item [2] of Schedule 1 to the Amendment Regulations updates the definition of Act in regulation 2, removing the reference to the repealed ATSIC Act and replacing it with the ATSI Act.
Item [3] of Schedule 1 to the Amendment Regulations omits obsolete definitions of Island Council and Torres Strait Commissioner from regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations.
This item omits regulation 4, which is obsolete following the abolition of the office of Torres Strait Commissioner, from the Principal Regulations.
Item [4] of Schedule 1 to the Amendment Regulations omits regulation 4, which is obsolete following the abolition of the office of Torres Strait Commissioner, from the Principal Regulations.
Item [5] of Schedule 1 to the Amendment Regulations substitutes subregulation 5(1) of the Principal Regulations, which sets out the information the TSRA must give to the Australian Electoral Commission after a TSRA election. The new subregulation 5(1) has been updated to remove obsolete references to chairpersons of Island Councils elected under regulations made under the Queensland Act.