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The Shop Trading Bill 2008 deregulates shop trading hours while still restricting trading on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Anzac Day morning, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The bill provides exemptions even for the restricted trading days for certain small shops, repeals the Shops and Industries Act 1962 and transfers provisions relating to weekday and weekend trading by banks to other Acts.

I wish to speak on behalf of many Christian people who do not approve of this bill. I would like to state personally that I do not approve of shooting as a sport, and I wonder why it is an Olympic Games event. I do not like the concept of the spread of firearms.

I speak on the Children (Detention Centres) Amendment Bill 2008. The stated objective of the bill is to amend the Children (Detention Centres Act) 1987, first, to ensure that certain persons who are the subject of arrest warrant are not to be detained in detention centres; secondly, to clarify the provisions of that Act with respect to the separate detention of different classes of detainees; thirdly, to clarify the provisions of that Act with respect to the transfer of detainees from detention centres to correctional centres; and, finally, to make other minor, consequential and ancillary amendments.

The objective of the Hemp Industry Bill 2008 is to enable low-THC hemp to be cultivated and supplied for commercial production and other legitimate purposes in accordance with a licensing scheme to be administered by the Director General of the Department of Primary Industries. The proposed Act defines low-THC hemp as cannabis that has a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol of no more than 1 per cent. The bill provides that the possession, cultivation or supply of low-THC hemp in accordance with a licence under the proposed Act will not constitute an offence under the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985.

The objective of the Threatened Species Conservation Amendment (Special Provisions) Bill 2008 is to amend the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 to confirm that the State Environmental Planning Policy (Sydney Region Growth Centres) 2006 has a biodiversity certification under that Act. The bill also amends the Local Government Act 1993 to make it clear that, for local government rating purposes, where part of a parcel of land is the subject of a conservation agreement under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, the rate payable on the whole parcel is to be proportionately reduced.

The Bill amends the Summary Offences Act 1988 to make it an offence (maximum penalty of $5,500 or imprisonment for 2 years, or both) of possessing or using, without reasonable excuse, a laser pointer in a public place. Similar to the scheme that exists for knives, people will be required to provide a lawful excuse as to why they possess a laser pointer in a public place.

This bill seeks to amend 57 Regulations, Acts and other instruments of New South Wales legislation. Firstly, it seeks to amend the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 by adding ‘domestic status’ along with ‘marital status’, so that same sex de facto relationships are included. This will align it with the Property (Relationships) Act 1984, which includes same sex couples in the definition of de facto relationships.

This Bill amends the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and other Acts and instruments to improve the NSW planning system. The Building Professional Amendments Bill 2008 and the Strata Management Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 are cognate with this Bill. The expressed intent of the amendments is to simplify, speed up, and make cheaper the processing of development applications and appeals, improver certifier accountability, and also impose greater accountability on Councils in the collection and subsequent application of Section 94 contribution monies.

The objectives of the Medical Practice Amendment Bill are to amend the Medical Practice Act 1992 and the Health Care Complaints Act 1993. The purpose of the Bill is intended to improve public protection within the health system by providing the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission and the NSW Medical Board with improved powers to deal quickly and effectively with complaints about medical practitioners.

This bill has two objectives. The first is concerned with amending the Jury Act 1977, to put into effect a number of recommendations from the NSW Law Reform Commission’s January 2008 Report regarding jury selection. The other is to amend the Criminal Appeal Act 1912 to enable appeals to be made regarding decisions made in the discharge of a jury.