Page 776 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 July 1989
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Now we hear that, we hear it in a reasoned fashion, and we hear some other matters. We invite Mr Whalan to respond to this motion, just to tease it out a little bit. The word "impropriety" has been developed by the Labor Party in this debate, but let us see what its members have to say. There is no way, shape or form that the Rally is going to allow matters that may ultimately go to judgment elsewhere to be prejudged in this chamber and to be ruined for investigation by the laws relating to privilege here.
The Rally saw in its policies the need for a comprehensive assessment of policing needs in the Territory. We believe that the crime problems are variable of our many social factors and they must in turn be identified and tackled. In asking some quite reasonable questions that would be seen to be very moderate, even wimpish, in the other house, we have had an extraordinarily defensive response from the party machines in this house today. I am saddened that my Liberal colleagues were not with me on this day. I must say, and I am sure all my colleagues feel the same way, that we got something in the back this morning. It is a very sad day when that happens. We have come forward out of our own lives to run issues, and on this issue Mr Kaine says that he does not want to hear unsubstantiated allegations. The Rally welcomes a debate on what the standard should be in this chamber in terms of unsubstantiated allegations.
I remind the house that it is only through those forms of democratic address, the capacity to ask questions in question time, the capacity of some signally courageous people in this community to come forward from time to time, that we do have proper inquiry, the beginnings and the first glint of light thrown on the improper practices of government and Ministers from time to time. The events in Queensland are eloquent.
The fact is that this has been an extraordinary week in the life of the Assembly. The Rally has found out who its friends are and we will go it alone from now on. Clearly the Labor Government has got power. It is going to stay there, and we are going to stay on its tail. We got our answer on morning radio. Mr Kaine is in no way going to be reliable, clearly, on the issue of the independent commission against crime. We are not going to get the sustained support we want, and Mr Whalan's tactic - supremely competent he is in tactics - has succeeded. He has once again split the Rally and the Liberal Party.
It is very sad that that has occurred. The tone was set this week when the Chief Minister decided to respond in what we thought was a knee-jerk reaction to the Fitzgerald report. But we now see it for what it was: a very carefully crafted tactic to flush us out again on corruption, to divide the Assembly, to get Mr Kaine again to go forward with his sentiments about unsubstantiated allegations.
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