Page 2490 - Week 07 - Monday, 15 August 2022
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Members interjecting—
MS LEE: You know what, that is what he went to the campaign with! That is exactly what he went to the campaign with!
The Greens, once again, have demonstrated that they want to have their cake and eat it too. In fact, in the so-called “budget reply” from the leader of the Greens, he said in once sentence that he is part of the government as well as the crossbench. It is all about wanting to have their cake and eat it too.
The Chief Minister will survive this motion of no confidence today, but—and through you, Madam Speaker—how does he feel about this precedent being set? How does the Chief Minister feel about this precedent being set? The Greens have now clearly demonstrated that they will and are prepared to use this weapon to hold the government to ransom. Think about this: the Chief Minister’s own cabinet colleagues have demonstrated that they will hold him to ransom over the budget.
How does the Chief Minister know that Mr Rattenbury and the Greens will not do this in the next budget or the one after? The Chief Minister indicated that he is going to be delivering the next budget and the one in 2024. How does he know that the Greens will not do this in the next budget and the one after? In fact, Mr Rattenbury in his contribution to this debate today admitted that, yes, we will probably see this again. What will the Greens vote against next? What will the Greens vote against next in the budget that they help put together? Are we going to see a vote by the Greens against the duplication of Athllon Drive? Are we going to see that? I know that that is particularly of interest to you, Madam Speaker. Is that what we are going to see?
How does the Chief Minister feel knowing that a member of the government’s own Expenditure Review Committee, who helped put the budget together one day can turn around the next day and say, “Yeah, nah! Nah, not going to happen.” How does he trust the leader of the Greens and the Attorney-General of this jurisdiction? As Mr Hanson said, it is incumbent on the leader of the Greens to resign his position from the cabinet if he is going to stick to his principles and vote against that item in the budget. If he refuses to do so, then the Chief Minister must sack him. If he does not, and I will use his own words here, “It is pathetically weak to let this farce continue to play out.”
Cabinet solidarity is a fundamental part of our parliamentary system. Federally, we have been governed by coalition governments, and when we look at the federal Cabinet Handbook, it is very clear what cabinet solidarity looks like, and I quote:
Members of the Cabinet must publicly support all Government decisions made in the Cabinet, even if they do not agree with them. Cabinet ministers cannot dissociate themselves from, or repudiate the decisions of their Cabinet colleagues unless they resign from the Cabinet. It is the Prime Minister’s role as Chair of the Cabinet, where necessary, to enforce Cabinet solidarity
Of course, the ACT Cabinet Handbook itself sets out very well the importance of cabinet solidarity.
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