Pursuant to section 35 of the Parliamentary Committees Act 2003, I lay on the table Alert Digest No. 15 of 2019 from the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee, including appendices. I move: That the report be published. Motion agreed to.
I move: That the Council take note of the report. I just want to briefly say that this year has been a busy year for the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee (SARC), and I think for all the committee members except one it has been a new venture, so it has been a learning curve for all of us. I want to thank the staff of the committee, who have helped us no end in getting our heads around dealing with, this year, some 70 pieces of legislation and some 180 regulations as well—that is a big body of work. We meet the day before each parliamentary week opens, so on the Monday of parliamentary sitting weeks. The staff have been tremendous, ably led by Helen Mason, the executive officer, who is wonderfully supported by Lauren Cook, who is our legal adviser on regulations; Simon Dinsbergs, who is our business support officer; Sonya Caruana, our office manager; and Professor Jeremy Gans, who is our human rights adviser. Jeremy is an absolute font of knowledge. I can assure the chamber and you, President, of that. I think he has been advising SARC for well over 10 years now, and I do not think a more pre-eminent expert would reside in this state than Professor Gans when it comes to human rights. His very colourful and descriptive presentations to the committee are always well received and, I think, always enjoyed by the committee. I just wanted to briefly take that opportunity because I did not want the year to end without acknowledging the exceptional work of the group. On a personal note, I also want to particularly thank the deputy chair of the committee, Neale Burgess from the other place. Mr Burgess took over the reins when I was unable to attend a few meetings earlier this year, and I greatly appreciate the work and effort that Mr Burgess has put into this committee. Thank you. Motion agreed to.