Wednesday, 29 May 2024

State Sporting Legislation Amendment Bill 2024

Statement of compatibility

Steve DIMOPOULOS (Oakleigh – Minister for Environment, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Minister for Outdoor Recreation) (10:44): In accordance with the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006, I table a statement of compatibility in relation to the State Sporting Legislation Amendment Bill 2024:

In accordance with section 28 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006, (the Charter), I make this Statement of Compatibility with respect to the State Sporting Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (the Bill).

In my opinion, the Bill, as introduced to the Legislative Assembly, is compatible with human rights as set out in the Charter. I base my opinion on the reasons outlined in this statement.

Overview

The Bill implements reforms in relation to trust membership, leasing powers and acting appointments for trust and board members through amendments to the following Acts (the State Sporting Acts):

• Kardinia Park Stadium Act 2016 (the KPS Act);

• Melbourne and Olympic Parks Act 1985 (the MOP Act);

• Melbourne Cricket Ground Act 2009 (the MCG Act);

• Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Act 1985 (the PBCS Act); and

• State Sport Centres Act 1994 (the SSC Act).

The amendments to the State Sporting Acts include:

• Streamlining membership and chairperson appointments and responsibilities including for acting members and acting chairpersons;

• Enabling the Minister to delegate the power to approve leases that are not major leases for Kardinia Park Stadium Land under the KPS Act, the National Tennis Centre and Olympic Park under the MOP Act and the State Sport Centres Lands under the SSC Act, to the Secretary or persons employed under Part 3 of the Public Administration Act 2004 (the PA Act) as an executive, in the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions (the Department);

• Providing the Minister with the power to nominate persons for membership to the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust (the MOP Trust), including from Tennis Australia Limited and the Victorian Tennis Association;

• Providing the Minister with the power to make floodlight determinations (under the MCG Act);

• Enabling the Minister to make event management declarations (under the KPS Act); and

• Abolishing of the Kardinia Park Advisory Committee (under the KPS Act) and the State Netball and Hockey Centre Advisory Committee (under SSC Act).

The Bill also amends the ANZAC Day Act 1958 (the ANZAC Day Act), to modernise the description of the area in which sports are held on ANZAC Day, and makes several statute law revisions and amendments to gendered language to enable inclusive application across the MOP Act, the MCG Act, the PBCS Act, the SSC Act, and the ANZAC Day Act.

Human Rights Issues

I have considered the Charter’s application to the Bill. The human rights protected by the Charter that are relevant to the Bill are:

• Recognition and Equality before the law (section 8);

• Freedom of Movement (section 12);

• Taking Part in Public Life (section 18); and

• Property Rights (section 20).

To the extent that the Bill limits any Charter rights, such limits are minimal and, in any event, are clear, reasonable, proportionate and justifiable in accordance with section 7(2) of the Charter.

Recognition and equality before the law (section 8)

Section 8 of the Charter provides that:

• Every person has the right to recognition as a person before the law.

• Every person has the right to enjoy their human rights without discrimination.

• Every person is equal before the law and is entitled to the equal protection of the law without discrimination and has the right to equal and effective protection against discrimination.

• Measures taken for the purpose of assisting or advancing persons or groups of persons disadvantaged because of discrimination do not constitute discrimination.

The Bill promotes the right to recognition and equality before the law by removing gendered language in the MOP Act, the MCG Act, the PBCS Act, the SSC Act, and the ANZAC Day Act. These amendments promote this right by:

• clarifying that the provisions in these Acts are inclusive of all persons, including women and non-binary persons; and

• improving the readability of the State Sporting Acts and ANZAC Day Act by clarifying the persons or office holders to which relevant provisions apply, by replacing references to gendered pronouns with formal office titles, as is standard under such revisions.

For these reasons I am of the view that the Bill promotes the right to recognition and equality before the law across the MOP Act, the MCG Act, the PBCS Act, the SSC Act and ANZAC Day Act.

Freedom of Movement (section 12)

Section 12 of the Charter provides that every person lawfully within Victoria has the right to move freely within Victoria, to enter and leave it, and has the freedom to choose where to live. This right extends to accessing public spaces, such as the ability of individuals to move through, remain in, enter or depart from public spaces, including freedom from physical barriers and procedural impediments.

The Bill provides that the Minister may delegate the power to approve certain leases over Crown land, including:

• Kardinia Park Stadium Land (KPS Land) (under the KPS Act, clause 9 of the Bill); and

• National Tennis Centre land or Olympic Park land (under the MOP Act, clause 14 of the Bill); and

• State Sport Centres lands (SSC Land) (under the SSC Act, clause 50 of the Bill).

KPS Land, National Tennis Centre land, Olympic Park land, and the SSC Land are Crown lands reserved under the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 (the CLR Act) for the purpose of public parks. The Kardinia Park Stadium Trust (the KPS Trust) manages KPS Land under section 6 of the KPS Act and may grant leases over KPS Land with approval of the Minister under section 31 of the KPS Act. The MOP Trust manages the National Tennis Centre and Olympic Park under section 6 of the MOP Act and may grant leases over these areas with the approval of the Minister under section 7(1)(a)(i) of the MOP Act. The State Sport Centres Trust (the SSC Trust) manages the SSC Land under section 6 of the SSC Act and may grant leases with the approval of the Minister over the various parcels of SSC Land under sections 25B (Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre land), 26B (State Netball and Hockey Centre land) and 26FD (Knox Regional Sports Park land and Lakeside Oval Reserve land) of the SSC Act.

These amendments engage the right to freedom of movement by altering the framework that manages the movement of individuals on Crown land. This is because leases may confer exclusive rights of access to a particular area, causing potential restrictions to freedom of movement. The purpose of enabling the Minister to delegate their power to approve leases that are not major leases, is to reduce administrative burden on the Minister by providing discretion for the Minister to delegate the power to the Secretary or Departmental executives. Delegating power is a necessary part of public administration, and the powers will not remove the mechanism of approval for the granting of leases by the KPS Trust, MOP Trust and SSC Trust. Leases granted by these trusts must still be approved by the nominated delegate, who is required to give proper consideration to relevant human rights in accordance with section 38 of the Charter when making the decision to approve the grant of leases.

The amendments do not alter any rights or obligations of tenants in how they exercise those rights and obligations over the lands, and do not reduce or prevent public access to the lands.

For these reasons I am of the view that clauses 9, 14 and 50 do not limit the right to freedom of movement, and to the extent that the right may be limited, any limitations are lawful and not arbitrary.

The Right to Take Part in Public Life (section 18)

Section 18(1) of the Charter provides that every person in Victoria has the right, and is to have the opportunity, without discrimination, to participate in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives. Section 18(2)(b) further provides that every eligible person has the right to have access, on general terms of equality, to the Victorian public service and public office. The right to participate in the conduct of public affairs applies to all people in Victoria. However, access to public office is restricted to only ‘eligible’ persons. The term ‘eligible’ is not defined in the Charter. Eligibility is to be determined by Victorian legislation, that is, persons who are eligible to stand for election are those that Victorian legislation provides may do so.

The Bill engages the right to take part in public life by:

• amending the KPS Act and SSC Act to abolish the Kardinia Park Advisory Committee (KPAC) and State Netball and Hockey Centre Advisory Committee (SNHCAC); and

• amending the MOP Act to change operation of membership procedures for the MOP trust (clause 15).

Abolition of KPAC and SNHCAC

The abolition of KPAC under clause 8, and SNHCAC under clause 53, engages the right to take part in public life by:

• removing the opportunity for people to be members of these committees and to participate in public affairs in that capacity; and

• removing the opportunity for the public to engage with these committees.

The current functions of the SNHCAC include to advise the SSC Trust on the operation and management of the State Netball and Hockey Centre and associated land and to operate as forum in which stakeholders of the facilities discuss management decisions and priorities. The SNHCAC primarily operates as an advisory body and does not have any decision-making powers under the SSC Act. Similarly, the current functions of KPAC are to advise the KPS Trust on the operation, management and improvement of the KPS Trust land, and to advise the KPS Trust and the Greater Geelong City Council on the operation, management and improvement of Kardinia Park. KPAC also primarily operates as advisory body that focuses on facility-specific issues at the local level and has no decision-making powers.

Although the Bill abolishes the SNHCAC and KPAC, advisory bodies may still be established on a less formal basis. The Minister may issue a direction to the SSC Trust under section 6A of the current SSC Act in relation to State Sport Centres Land, or to the KPS Trust under section 19 of the current KPS Act in relation to Kardinia Park Stadium land, including to establish an advisory committee. The option to establish an advisory committee in this manner will provide flexibility compared to the current SNHCAC or KPAC, as it will enable many of the substantive functions of SNHCAC and KPAC to be replicated by these bodies established pursuant to ministerial direction and enable a more efficient mechanism for changes to the function and purpose of these bodies in adapting to needs of the SSC Trust and KPS Trust. The option to appoint committees in this manner will also preserve the opportunity for the public to engage on the matters previously managed by SNHCAC or KPAC.

Amendments to membership procedures for MOP Trust

The MOP Trust is established under section 5 of the MOP Act and is comprised of 12 members including 2 ‍persons from Tennis Australia Limited and 1 person from the Victorian Tennis Association (the Tennis Organisations). Clause 15 of the Bill changes the way in which membership of the MOP Trust operates in terms of membership procedures, by providing for the Minister make nominations for members of the MOP Trust from the Tennis Organisations, instead of the current procedure whereby the Tennis Organisations made their own nominations. Under clause 15 of the Bill, the Tennis Organisations may provide the Minister with recommended persons to consider for nomination as representative members on the MOP Trust. This clause engages with how representatives of the Tennis Organisations are able to take part in public life by giving the Minister oversight and decision-making power over their nominations. However, clause 15 provides that the Tennis Organisations may still recommend persons to the Minister, and the membership of the MOP Trust must include 3 members to represent the Tennis Organisations. This maintains objective, reasonable and non-discriminatory criteria for appointments.

For these reasons I am of the view that these clauses do not limit the right to take part in public life, and to the extent that it may be limited, the limitations are lawful and not arbitrary.

Property Rights (section 20)

Section 20 of the Charter provides that a person must not be deprived of that person’s property other than in accordance with the law. An interference with property may amount to a deprivation in circumstances where it effectively prevents a person from using or dealing with their property. However, the Charter permits deprivations of property so long as the powers which authorise the deprivation are conferred by legislation or common law, are confined and structured rather than unclear, are accessible to the public, and are formulated precisely. The Bill engages the right to property by –

• amending the KPS Act, MOP Act and SSC Act to enable delegation of the Minister’s power to approve the granting of leases; and

• amending the KPS Act and SSC Act to abolish the KPAC and SNHCAC.

Delegation of the Minister’s leasing powers (KPS Act, MOP Act and SSC Act):

Whilst clauses 9, 14 and 50 of the Bill, that provide for the Minister’s powers to delegate the power to approve the granting of leases under the KPS Act, MOP Act and SSC Act, appear to engage the property rights under section 20 of the Charter, these clauses will not operate to deprive any person of any known proprietary rights that are held in relation to the land, and as such the Bill does not engage the right.

As such, I am satisfied that reforms introduced by this Bill are compatible with the Charter. To the extent that they may limit rights in the Charter, those limits are balanced by the benefits of amendment, and reasonably justified to achieve an important aim of enhancing the governance and administration of Victorian sporting infrastructure.

Steve Dimopoulos MP

Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events

Second reading

Steve DIMOPOULOS (Oakleigh – Minister for Environment, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Minister for Outdoor Recreation) (10:44): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I ask that my second-reading speech be incorporated into Hansard.

Incorporated speech as follows:

The State Sporting Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (Bill) before the house today makes many important administrative changes across the Kardinia Park Stadium Act 2016, Melbourne and Olympic Parks Act 1985, Melbourne Cricket Ground Act 2009, Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Act 1985 and State Sport Centres Act 1994. The Bill modernises section 4 of the ANZAC Day Act 1958 by updating the measure of distance and removing an obsolete reference to the General Post Office. It also removes gendered language across a number of Acts.

Although the reforms appear to be relatively straightforward, the continuous fine-tuning of these Acts is essential for the effective governance of our state sporting assets and the regulation of professional boxing and combat sports.

Together, the State’s sporting trusts manage in excess of $4.1 billion worth of significant government assets, spread across a number of major and complex sporting venues in Victoria while the Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Board is the body responsible for the regulation of professional combat sports in Victoria, issuing approximately 800 licences, registrations and permits annually. It is critical that our Trusts are provided with a legislative framework that supports them to undertake their roles efficiently and effectively. This Bill seeks to do that.

Firstly, the Bill amends how subordinate instruments are made under the Kardinia Park Stadium Act and the Melbourne Cricket Ground Act.

The change to the Kardinia Park Stadium Act will permit the Minister rather than the Governor in Council to make Kardinia Park Stadium event management declarations. This amendment will significantly reduce the time required to make a declaration however it will not change any of the matters required to be considered by the Minister when determining whether a declaration should be made. This amendment will increase efficiency of process and help to enhance Victoria’s reputation as the event capital of Australia.

The Bill also amends the floodlight determination provisions in the Melbourne Cricket Ground Act. Currently, only the Minister may make a determination specifying when the floodlights at the Melbourne Cricket Ground may be operated. The Bill amends the Act to allow the Minister to delegate the making of determinations to the department. This will enhance responsiveness to sector requests by enabling determinations to be made more quickly, especially when applications are made on short notice. Importantly however, the requirement for gazettal of these determinations has been retained.

A number of changes to leasing provisions across various Acts are also made by the Bill. Leases over the National Tennis Centre and Olympic Park are currently granted by the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust, subject to the consent of the Minister administering the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978. This arrangement does not take account of the precinct knowledge held by the Minister responsible for administering the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Act and creates additional administrative burden for the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust. The Bill changes the Minister responsible for approving leases at the National Tennis Centre and Olympic Park from the Minister responsible for administering the Crown Land (Reserves) Act to the Minister responsible for administering the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Act. The Minister responsible for the administration of the Crown Land (Reserves) Act will retain responsibility for approving leases over Gosch’s Paddock.

The Bill contains additional red tape reduction measures in relation to the approval of leases over state sporting facilities including amendments that allow the Minister to delegate approval of leases other than major leases to the department. These changes will affect leasing provisions in the Kardinia Park Stadium Act, Melbourne and Olympic Parks Act and the State Sport Centres Act. The amendments will streamline lease processes while maintaining the requirement that the Minister approve more significant leases.

The Bill will improve consistency across Trust appointment processes and reduce red tape and onerous appointment requirements for advisory committees. Consistency will be improved by providing the Minister with the power to appoint an acting chairperson and/or acting members to the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust, Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust, Melbourne Cricket Ground Trust and Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Board. The Melbourne and Olympic Parks Act and Melbourne Cricket Ground Act will also be amended to allow resignations to be made directly to the Minister rather than the Governor in Council. These amendments will simplify the resignation process and increase efficiency by avoiding resignations being reliant on the availability of the Governor.

The Bill also removes outdated provisions prohibiting Tennis Australia and Tennis Victoria employees from being eligible for payment as members of the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust and will give the Minister the power to nominate members of these organisations on the recommendation of the tennis organisations. This will allow the Minister to decline a recommendation made by the tennis organisations and request a new nominee be proposed, enhancing the robustness of appointments made to the nominated positions.

The Bill will increase the maximum number of members on the Melbourne Cricket Ground Trust from eight to nine and it will increase membership of the State Sport Centre Trust from seven to 11 to ensure sufficient resourcing to meet the demands of an expanded infrastructure portfolio.

The final administrative change made by the Bill is to dissolve the State Netball and Hockey Centre and Kardinia Park Advisory Committees and repeal their establishing provisions. These committees are advisory bodies with no decision-making powers and are generally a forum in which stakeholders of the facilities and community groups discuss management decisions and priorities. Members of these committees are currently required to comply with unnecessarily onerous appointment processes which has resulted in several representative nominees declining to be formally appointed. The Kardinia Park Stadium Act and State Sport Centres Act both already contain provisions that will allow similar but less formal bodies to be established by Ministerial Direction with the same practical effect as the current advisory committee provisions but with greater flexibility to encourage stakeholder participation.

I commend the Bill to the house.

James NEWBURY (Brighton) (10:44): I move:

That the debate be adjourned.

Motion agreed to and debate adjourned.

Ordered that debate be adjourned for two weeks. Debate adjourned until Wednesday 12 June.