MEDIA RELEASE

Public hearing with the Minister for Disability and Human Rights Commission into the Public Health Amendment Bill 2021 (No. 2)

The Assembly’s Health Committee will hold its first public hearing into the Bill from 2.30 to 5 pm today. The witnesses include Ms Emma Davidson MLA, Minister for Disability, and the ACT Human Rights Commission.

The hearing will be held virtually and live streamed to the public. The hearings can be viewed at the Video on Demand website.

The Bill includes seeks to establish a regulatory framework to manage health risks around COVID-19. Subject to certain conditions, the Bill will give the ACT Government the power to require people to have a COVID-19 vaccination for certain activities or attend certain places.

Committee Chair, Mr Davis, said “This Bill has been introduced by the Government when COVID-19 continues to present challenges to health workers, businesses, and families. The Committee’s job is to make recommendations to ensure that the Bill strikes the right balance between public health and respect for the individual..”

The Legislative Assembly referred the Bill to the Committee on 2 December 2021 with a reporting date of 28 February 2022. Information about the inquiry is available on the inquiry website.

Program

Time	Witness
2.30 pm	ACT Human Rights Commission
3 pm	Ms Emma Davidson MLA, Minister for Disability
3.30 pm	Australian Hotels Association, ACT Branch
4 pm	Civil Liberties Australia
4.30 pm	ACT Law Society
5 pm	Close

For media comment contact the office of the Chair on (02) 6205 0051.
For information about the inquiry contact the Committee Secretary on (02) 6205 0129 or by email at LACommitteeHCW@parliament.act.gov.au.