LEGAL think-tank Veritas has said Parliament must investigate how the Copper Control Amendment Bill, which recently sailed through Parliament, was altered.
Section 2 of the Act inserts the definition of “putative dealer” but the definition has since been changed, something that has triggered debate.
Veritas said Parliament did not pass or consider the definition now contained in the Act or resolve to drop the definitions of other terms like “police district” and “utilities.”
In its latest publication, The Copper Control Amendment Act Variations on a Theme by Parliament, Veritas said the definition in the Bill was vague since the idea of someone possessing copper or anything else “for a consideration” is legally meaningless.
“The only remedy is for Parliament to have the Bill reprinted as an Act, this time with unaltered provisions, and resubmitted to the President for assent and signature. The new Act should be published in the Gazette, perhaps with a notice indicating that the earlier “Act” was published in error.
“Parliament should also investigate how and why the Copper Control Amendment Bill was altered that ways and procedures should be developed to ensure that the same thing does not happen again,” Veritas said.
The think-tank said changes made to the Copper Control Amendment Bill, as revealed by the differences between the Bill and the Act, go beyond what is permitted by Standing Orders.
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