Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition supports the passage of the Registration of Deaths Abroad Amendment Bill 2016, which makes a number of amendments to the Registration of Deaths Abroad Act 1984. The act provides that the Minister for Foreign Affairs shall appoint a Registrar of Deaths Abroad. This registrar is responsible for the registration of deaths of Australian citizens, residents and other prescribed persons who die abroad, on board Australian aircraft or ships, or in other prescribed circumstances.

The opposition recognises the importance of the registration of deaths abroad regime. We all know that the death of a loved one is a sad and distressing event in anyone's life. Death certificates are important documents for a range of legal and administrative requirements which must be attended to following the loss of a loved one When an Australian dies overseas, the stresses and difficulties for family members can be magnified, which is why it is important that existing state and territory regimes for the registration of deaths are supplemented by the Commonwealth Registration of Deaths Abroad Act. On occasions when a death occurs abroad, there can sometimes be problems in registering the death under the normal state or territory arrangements. The act before the chamber or the substantive legislation ensures alternative arrangements are available where such problems exist.

The bill before the chamber has one primary purpose, which is to correct an anomaly which has arisen under the act. The amendments will validate the earlier appointment of the ACT Registrar-General as the Registrar of Deaths Abroad and validate any registrations made under the existing act. In addition, the bill makes a number of other amendments to simplify and clarify the processes and requirements for registering deaths abroad.

The opposition notes that the explanatory memorandum to the bill states that it has no financial implications for the Commonwealth or for the community. As I noted at the outset, the opposition is pleased to support this bill. This bill was introduced to the last parliament in March of this year. It was a bill which lapsed in May when the Prime Minister decided to go to an early election and dissolved both houses of parliament, so it was one of a number of pieces of legislation which were not passed when the Prime Minister chose to go to an early election by way of double dissolution.

The opposition believes the anomalies in the registration of deaths abroad system which this bill addresses are non-controversial and could and should have been resolved months ago in the last parliament, so we are pleased to support this bill for the second time. But we want to put it on the record that the delay in securing passage of this bill is regrettable. The delay is a direct consequence of this government's failure to manage its legislative program in the last parliament and a direct consequence of the Prime Minister's decision to go to an early election. This bill also reflects the lack of a clear agenda from the Turnbull government in that this is the first piece of legislation that the government has brought before the Senate this term.

As I said at the outset, we support the bill. It is a worthy bill but it is a bill correcting a technical error; it is not a bill that is part of a clear agenda from the government. One wonders why the government believes its agenda should commence with a bill that could have been dealt with in non-controversial legislation on Thursday or, frankly, prior to the parliament being dissolved. The government's agenda is focused on fixing a technical error in this bill. To our way of thinking, this is a clear sign that this is a government that is in office but not in power. It is unsurprising that so many, even on the government benches, are wondering what on earth the government's agenda is. The opposition is happy to support the legislation. I commend the bill to the chamber.