Page 336 - Week 03 - Thursday, 1 June 1989
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particularly interested in looking to the future, not being obsessed with the past and with past occurrences. I believe that the only way this Assembly can operate effectively is if we look to the future and behave accordingly and put behind us previous administrations which were totally beyond our control.
We are also aware, of course, that there is a considerable amount of distaste in the community and in the public service for the manner in which Mr Collaery sought to raise and promote allegations of corruption over the past year. The fact remains that he has not produced evidence to warrant prosecution of anyone, and the fact that he continues to raise these matters, I believe, is quite reprehensible.
But, consistent with the general approach that Mr Collaery has taken on the corruption issue, he has now put forward a hasty and somewhat ill-defined motion. He is asking us to support the creation of a committee with undefined terms of reference and a totally unclear statutory base. Frankly, Mr Speaker, we on the government side have been waiting for Mr Collaery to produce a much better defined and detailed proposal which we could debate on its merits. From the amount of discussion he has put forward on corruption we expected something rather more definitive than we have before us. I think it is fair to say that as usual Mr Collaery has played to the gallery; he has gone for a cheap headline on this matter, and he has left the serious work to others.
This is much too important an issue to be rushed into. I think it is fair to say that the Government now supports the need for some kind of inquiry into corruption. As I said before, we need to clear the air on the matter. There have already been some reports with which we dealt in our previous advisory committee capacity, for instance, from the Administration's investigations unit. I think it is appropriate now that we consider calmly and fully the form and approach of any other inquiry that we might want to set up in relation to corruption.
We would certainly be happy to discuss our approach with other parties in the Assembly, which Mr Collaery has not done, and to develop in time a considerate and workable proposal which is properly and effectively integrated with other administrative procedures and systems. I think it is important that this issue not overwhelm the work of the Assembly but rather become a part of our everyday work - something that we consider in general terms as a normal part of our procedures. But, unlike Mr Collaery, I think it is fair to say that the Government is prepared to do the work on this matter and to get it right.
MR DUBY (10.56): I think it is fair to say that there is not one person in this Assembly who does not find the concept of corruption in the Administration abhorrent. In that regard, the No Self Government Party supports the
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