52 legislation being consolidated. It is interesting to see what has happened since 1908. Although  this  involves  some  history  that  readers  may  find  tedious,  it  reveals  a serious  concern  at  the  highest  levels  of  government  for  making  statute  law accessible and the practical steps that were put in place to achieve this. 104 Speaking on the second reading of the Bill for the Statutes Drafting and Compilation Act 1920, the Attorney-General, Hon Sir Francis Bell, explained that, in the Law Drafting Office (renamed the Parliamentary Counsel Office in 1973), there would be separate Bill Drafting and Compilation Departments. The Attorney explained what he hoped to achieve by separating the 2 Departments, namely “conti nuous compilation and a practical end to the condition of the statute book since 1908”: The  duties  [of  the  2  Dep artments  of  the  Office],  as  honourable  gentlemen  will  see,  are carefully distinguished by Departments, so that the officers of one Department shall not be performing the duties of the other. The real reform that I have been trying to effect is that the compilation office rs will not b e taken  off their own wo rk. I hope that at the beginning of the next session Parliament will have to consider two sets, and two entirely and distinct and  separate  sets,  o f  laws—  one  presented  by  the  Law  Drafting  Department  under  the direction of a Minister of the Crown, comprehend ing amendments to the existing law, and the  other  for  the  consideration  of  the  Legislature,  consisting  of  the  consolidation  and comp ilation of already existing law upo n the various subjects. 105 The Attorney’s intention was to have  a separate, dedicated team, headed by the Compiler   of   Statutes,   to   compile   and   consolidate   statutes   for   re-enactment. Section  6(2)  of  the  Act  made  the  Compiler  of  Statutes  a  statutory  office,  in providing that “The chief officer of the Compilation Depar tment shall be called the Compiler of Statutes, and shall be a principal officer of the Law Drafting Office”, and section 5 of the Act is as follows: 5 Duties of officers of Compilation Department The duties of the officers of the Compilation Department shall be—