Law

Bills

Amendments made to Bills before they are passed may shed light upon the interpretation of the Act.
 

Explanatory Memoranda (EMs)

EMs are written in plain English with the purpose assisting parliamentarians understand the bill they are about to debate. They include statements of intent about how the bill will operate when enacted and are a crucial tool in the exercise of statutory interpretation.
 

Parliamentary Committee Reports

Advisory reports or reports from review committees also are essential in statutory interpretation and may be used in the court under the provisions of the extrinsic materials section within the Interpretation Act.
 

Second Reading Speeches

After a Bill's introduction and first reading, the responsible Minister delivers a speech outlining the importance of the Bill and its main objectives. This is the second reading speech which is followed by debate amongst members. In the following stages more specific details of the Bill are discussed, often clause by clause, this is called the Consideration in Detail stage or Committee stage. Second reading speeches are essential for understanding the intention, purpose or object of the legislation. Second reading speeches can be found by searching Hansard.

Hint: use the Hansard Index from the year the Bill was introduced and passed to make sure you view all relevant pages. Debates can be adjourned and picked up at a later date so you will often need to view multiple pdfs to read the entire speech.
 

Law Reform Reports

Law Reform Commissions are statutory bodies charged with reviewing and making recommendations for reforming the law within their jurisdiction. Reference to relevant reports which may include the source of the Bill are useful in interpreting the application of the legislation.