Page 3948 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 29 November 2022
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Standing orders—suspension
MR HANSON (Murrumbidgee) (2.55): I move:
That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent me from moving a motion to request a correction of record from a Minister.
I think it is the normal and accepted form of this place that if someone is misleading or if someone is seen to be misleading then they, at the earliest opportunity, correct the record, apologise and say, “I got it wrong.” That is the form of this place and that is what we have always done. With regard to police funding, I think it has been a matter of public record and it has certainly been something we have debated regularly in this place over the last couple of years, that the ACT does fund its police force at a lower level—Madam Speaker—
Mr Barr: Point of order. Mr Hanson is seeking to debate the matter not the suspension of standing orders.
MR HANSON: Madam Speaker, on the point of order, if you could just stop the clock for a second please. I am making the point this is a matter that could be debated now. I am trying to explain why this could be debated now, why there is no need for this to be brought back another time and why we could debate this very quickly now.
MADAM SPEAKER: Okay, I will give you some leniency for now but in the time you have left go to the point of suspending standing orders.
MR HANSON: Thanks very much, Madam Speaker. I am not trying to litigate the argument. I am trying to say that this is a point of record. Now Mr Gentleman has regularly argued we have a low funded police force and he thinks that is a good thing because it might be value for money. We have a different nature of jurisdiction here in terms of the size and scope. That might be his argument and that is for him to put. But the matter is black and white and has been the subject of debate in this Assembly on many occasions: we do have the lowest number of police funded in Australia so I just ask that he apologise and withdraw and we can all move on.
MR BARR (Kurrajong—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Climate Action, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Tourism) (2.57): Mr Hanson was, yes, skating around the edge, seeking to debate the matter rather than the suspension of standing orders. Let me be clear on the matter of suspension of standing orders. The government is not going to support motions being sprung on the Assembly. This is the second time in this sitting period that we are not going to be supporting and giving leave for these sorts of motions. Now I understand that what was negotiated—I saw Mr Braddock come and speak to the opposition—was that the government would be prepared to allow Mr Hanson to bring this motion on at the conclusion of private members business in a few hours time, if he still believed it was that important to bring it forward. Now if the opposition want a debate for police numbers and find a way to add another piece of private members business, they should substitute out one of their other—
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