Libs must lift their game in upper house: Carpenter

Premier Alan Carpenter has identified nine items of government legislation he expected the upper house of state parliament to pass in the next fortnight.

However, the premier said the passing of the legislation depended on support from the Liberal Party, which was going to be a test for new opposition leader Troy Buswell.

"Top of our legislative priority list is the Criminal Law and Evidence Amendment Bill, which increases penalties for assaults against public officers, including police officers," Mr Carpenter said.

"The government does not control the upper house and its Liberal Party members do not have a reputation for dealing efficiently with important legislation.

"It should not be difficult for the upper house to pass the nine pieces of legislation we have identified in its first two sitting weeks.

"The Liberals have traditionally used the Upper House as a political road block.

"This is highlighted by the fact that there are currently 42 pieces of legislation before the upper house.

"These bills have been sitting on their agenda for an average 221 days, which is an absolute disgrace.

"Last year, it took the Lower House an average of 87 days to pass each bill. In the upper house, it took an average 171 days for each bill.

"I would urge Mr Buswell to pull his upper house colleagues into line."

The nine pieces of legislation identified for passage in the first two weeks of upper house sittings are:

- Criminal Law and Evidence Amendment Bill 2006 - 449 days since introduction in the Upper House;
- Terrorism (Preventative Detention) Amendment Bill 2007 - 163 days since introduction;
- Acts Amendment (Justice) Bill 2007 - 86 days since introduction;
- Bail Amendment Bill 2007 - 78 days since introduction;
- Cross Border Justice Bill 2007 - 86 days since introduction;
- Security and Related Activities (Control) Amendment Bill 2007 - 85 days since introduction;
- Parental Support and Responsibility Bill 2005 - spent 568 days in Upper House before being passed with amendments that have been rejected by the Government;
- Mines Safety and Inspection Amendment Bill 2007 - 122 days since introduction; and
- Human Reproductive Technology Amendment Bill 2007 - 150 days since introduction.