Statute Law Amendment (References to the Sovereign) Bill 2023

By John Berger

29 AUGUST 2023

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the discussion of this bill. The bill before us today is the Statute Law Amendment (References to the Sovereign) Bill 2023. It is specifically an amendment to an extensive selection of legislation containing references to the sovereign, which for everyone’s clarification is the British monarch, who is the head of state for both the state of Victoria and the Commonwealth of Australia. As of this year, that monarch is no longer Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II but is now her son King Charles III. Whilst the Andrews Labor government has congratulated King Charles in his ascension to the throne, it has presented an issue within the state laws, which must be addressed. The late Queen Elizabeth II reigned for a long and illustrious seven decades over Britain and the Commonwealth, a reign that saw great upheaval and change throughout the world. The world of 2023 would be virtually unrecognisable to the world the late Queen was coronated in. However, one thing has remained the same through all of those years: the wording of our legislation. That is right; several acts in force within Victoria specifically reference the monarch, with each reference, by the way, referring to the monarch as either ‘Her Majesty’ or ‘the Queen’. This is not reflective of reality, so we must go in and change it.

Before getting to the substance of this bill, I would just like to briefly touch on a few points. This is a very straightforward and plain bill. It has been put forward so that our legislation may reflect the reality of our state. I am sure that this chamber holds a diverse array of feelings and views on the monarchy and the monarchy’s relationship with the state of Victoria. The bill does not seek to divide those views. As of August 2023, the Victorian constitution states that the monarch of the Commonwealth is the head of state. That is a written fact, and it is important that our legislation is consistent with this. To ensure that our legislation is accurate, we must amend the references to ‘Her Majesty’ and ‘the Queen’. You would be forgiven for thinking the bill is a bit different to others, but that highlights one of the integral parts of good governance. One of our duties as a government is being responsible for ensuring that our legislation is up to date. Mostly this is manifested in reforms that reflect a change in society or societal values or when laws prove not to be effective, but that does not mean that clerical corrections do not count as an area that must be updated, and it is a responsible government that recognises this and takes the time to amend the laws.

Now, to turn to the actual contents of the bill, the bill seeks to amend 36 pieces of statute law within Victoria. The bill primarily focuses on the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984, sometimes referred to as the ILA. The Interpretation of Legislation Act is an incredibly important part of Victoria’s legal system. It gives us the guidance needed to properly exercise the laws in this state. That is an important aspect of the functioning of our community here and can mean the difference between a fair society where everyone gets a go and one that does nothing to help the people that live in it. For this reason it is essential that the Interpretation of Legislation Act be accurate and up to date. It is a good government that does this. The interpretation of legislation can define so many aspects of Victorian life. It is an integral part of Victorian law, and it deals directly and in some depth with the linguistics and wording of our legislation. It stands to reason that a bill dealing with the meaning derived from the words of legislation should turn first to the Interpretation of Legislation Act to ensure that all relevant legislation may be interpreted in a manner in line with Victorian parliamentary standards.

The other acts that this bill seeks to amend are as follows. The Accident Compensation Act 1985, which pertains to the payment of compensation to accident victims, will be amended in section 129F(8), changing ‘Her Majesty’ to ‘His Majesty’. The Administration and Probate Act 1958, which consolidates laws relating to the administration of the estates of deceased persons, will be amended in section 84(4), with ‘Her Majesty’ being substituted with ‘His Majesty’.

The Attorney-General and Solicitor-General Act 1972, outlining the roles and responsibilities of the Attorney-General and other relevant legislative measures, is amended in three places. In section 3 ‘Her Majesty’s’ is substituted with ‘the’; in section 4, after ‘Her Majesty’s counsel’ the bill inserts ‘or His Majesty’s counsel’; and finally, in section 5 ‘Her Majesty’ becomes ‘the Crown in the right of Victoria’. Next is the Bail Act 1977, which outlines laws surrounding bail in Victoria. In sections 18A and 32 ‘His Majesty’ will be substituted for ‘Her Majesty’. The County Court Act 1958, the act that outlines the laws, responsibilities and regulations of our county courts, is amended twice in section 28A, changing ‘Her Majesty’ to ‘His Majesty’.

The Crimes Act 1958, the act consolidating our criminal law, will have several amendments, with sections 191(3), 206, 316, 404 and 405 all being updated to reflect the change in the head of state. In the Criminal Procedures Act 2009 section 327(1) will be amended to substitute ‘His Majesty’s’ for ‘Her Majesty’s’. The Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 will have ‘Her Majesty’ substituted with ‘His Majesty’ where it occurs in sections 5, 8, 15 and 19. Then we have the Crown Proceedings Act 1958. Being proceedings relating directly to the Crown, this act will be subject to 15 amendments throughout its many sections, all to ensure that they accurately describe the current monarch.

The Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 act covers some criminal law, so there is reference to ‘the Crown’. In sections 6, 30 and 83 every instance of ‘Her Majesty’ is substituted by ‘His Majesty’. Additionally, within the act, schedule 10 will include the words ‘His Majesty’. The Evidence Act 1958 will have its section 59 amended to feature the words ‘His Majesty’s’. In the Fire Rescue Victoria Act 1958, section 80(1)(a), the definition of ‘service’ will now include ‘Her Majesty or His Majesty’. The bill also touches on important acts that affect the very food we eat. The Fisheries Act 1995 and the Food Act 1984 both feature references to the monarch and therefore will be updated by this bill.

Other acts subject to more brief and minor alterations, in some instances just a single alteration, under the Statute Law Amendment (References to the Sovereign) Bill 2023 include, in no order, the Instruments Act 1958, the Racing Act 1958, the Sport and Recreation Act 1972 and the Unauthorized Documents Act 1958, with some more extensive amendments to be made to the Veterans Act 2005.

On the topic of laws and acts that are relevant to veterans, the Shrine of Remembrance Act 1978 also features in the amendment bill. The act pertains to one of the most iconic Melbourne landmarks, the Shrine of Remembrance, and I am glad to have the opportunity to talk about it. I am incredibly lucky to be close to the Shrine of Remembrance, and I am sure my constituents and colleagues in Southern Metropolitan share the same sense of pride in the shrine. The shrine is the most Southern Metro in all of Victoria, and it reminds us of the significance of the sacrifice that veterans have made for us. I look forward to being back there soon.

Many acts referenced within this bill relate directly to the functioning of our criminal and legal system, acts that affect prisoners such as the Prisoners (Interstate Transfer) Act 1983, the Summary Offences Act 1966 and the Sentencing Act 1991. Acts like the Public Safety Preservation Act 1958 will also be brought up to date, which is important as they directly address the safety of Victorians as we go about living our day-to-day lives in the community.

There are two acts included in this amendment bill that affect landlords within Victoria. Obviously due to the Crown’s ownership of Crown land, there are many references to the sovereign in the acts that address statute laws affecting land. The two land acts to be amended by this bill are the Transfer of Land Act 1958 and, far more notably, the Land Act 1958. Additionally, the Property Law Act 1958 will be amended by the bill. This is a very important law to every single Victorian as it addresses property protection within Victoria. As with other criminal and legal statutes, it is important that this remain up to date.

There are also instances in which this bill removes the reference to the monarchy altogether, but it is important to acknowledge and pay respect to Victoria’s head of state. The relationship that Victoria has with our sovereign has changed somewhat since the late Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne 70 years ago in 1953. This is reflected in some of the legislation surrounding crime and policing. Unlike other amendments that have been referenced in which the feminine pronoun ‘Her’ is replaced with the masculine ‘His’ and references to the Queen are also altered to reference the King, these amendments will omit or remove references to the monarch. The last time our statute laws referencing the monarchy were subject to an amendment bill, Victorians were using pounds and shillings.

I never thought that I would have the opportunity to speak about the Canadian territory of Yukon in the Parliament of Victoria, but this bill gives me that opportunity. Yukon is the smallest and westernmost of Canada’s three territories. It is also the second-least-populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 44,412 people – a small population – and yet the forward-thinking people of the Yukon, with the population of a single seat in the Parliament of Victoria, passed the References to the Sovereign Statute Law Amendment Act 2023 to update the legislative references to reflect the change from Queen to King and to streamline the process of similar updates in the future. Our bill takes a similar approach to this. The statement published by the governor of the Yukon explained the purpose of the bill:

In light of the passing of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, His Majesty King Charles III became Canada’s new Sovereign and Head of State.

As a result of this transition, the Yukon’s legislation must be updated to reflect the identity of the current Sovereign of Canada. This bill will accomplish this while streamlining the process for similar updates in the future.

As with other statute law bills we have passed this year and in previous years, this bill is straightforward. It does not try and change the effect of the laws or how they operate. The overarching intent of this bill is to make minimal changes to Victoria’s statute book to ensure the terms remain legally accurate and the meanings and legal interpretations are preserved. If we are to look at the planned amendments to some statute laws relating to crime and policing, the Victoria Police Act 2013 will be amended to omit or remove references to the monarchy. ‘Her Majesty’s peace’ will now simply be ‘the peace’ – the peace that collectively belongs to all Victorians.

We have the responsibility to ensure that every statute law in this state is accurate and up to date, and sometimes that does mean sitting down and altering nearly 40 acts. Governance is a big job with a million little jobs that need to happen under it, and in the Andrews Labor government we understand that attention to legislative detail is just as important to delivering for Victorians as big and ambitious, life-changing project goals. Additionally, it should be noted that this bill does not amend every single legislative reference to the monarch. There are many, many more references to the monarch in our state laws that read ‘Her Majesty’ rather than the appropriate ‘His Majesty’.

I would also like to take the time to talk about and acknowledge why we need to go in to change our state law in the first place – the tragic passing of Queen Elizabeth II nearly a year ago and her heir and son King Charles III’s coronation earlier this year in May. I am sure everything that could have been said about the Queen has been said, but it would be wrong not to acknowledge just how significant her 70-year reign was. It would also be odd not to acknowledge and congratulate the King on his official coronation some months ago. I would like to echo the sentiments of the Premier when addressing the passing of the late Queen Elizabeth and wish the new King Charles a long and prosperous reign.

President, if I could leave you and my colleagues in this chamber with one takeaway from my contribution, it would be that this does not affect the functioning of the statute laws that are amended. It is an amendment in principle really – the principle that the Victorian people have a right to have up-to-date, accurate laws, which is a duty that decent governments recognise. So to this effect I commend the bill to the house.