Page 800 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 July 1989
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Accounts Committee. But there seems to be an attempt in this motion this morning by the Government to somehow frighten the Rally off its tracks. The concept developed this morning was that the Rally had to put up or shut up. Of course, that is Joh Bjelke-Petersen language. We had read out here in the chamber a report by a detective sergeant about Operation Angler. We passed through this morning a number of illustrative issues relating to the casino, organised crime, and the like and we saw that in Queensland the recommendations of the Fitzgerald commission were largely those of a body of people, a body politic, haunted by a total breakdown in its processes.
There is no suggestion from the Rally that that exists here. I joined with my colleague Mr Kaine recently in debate in suggesting that to bring the Fitzgerald issue on this week and to provoke the issues that still confront us today on sitting day 3 of the week, really lies at the Government's feet. Who started talking about corruption this week? It was the Chief Minister, with this absurd knee-jerk reaction and point-scoring exercise on the Fitzgerald report, complete with a homily that "everything is all right in the ACT". It was clearly incorrect. There are concerns, a lot of which may be unfounded, and one knows that that is one of the big issues in the criminal law. Only an iota of that which is suspected is ever proven, and my legal colleagues in the chamber know that. But that does not mean to say that the iceberg is not there.
The Rally is not about fear tactics. This debate came upon us this week because, after due consideration, the Rally raised some issues. The question of unsubstantiated allegations needs to be looked at to see what the standard will be in this Assembly. I am new to this Assembly; the Rally is new. There are some experienced politicians here, but to the best of my ability I have determined that vigorous debate at times, particularly vigorous questioning of Ministers, has been practised elsewhere in this country, and there is nothing improper in what I am doing. I want to assure the Assembly that the issues raised in this matter do not go to personalities; not at all. I have no personality issue at all with either Minister Grassby, with whom I have always had the most cordial relations until these regrettable last few days, or Mr Whalan, who only a few days ago came and sat in the suite of offices of my two colleagues and allowed us to bestow on him a Residents Rally scarf - only for a few seconds, I might add.
There is a sign of the tightening noose. But the fact of the matter is that there is a cordiality in this Assembly which is not always evident in this chamber. As I said to my friend Mr Kaine a few moments ago, we tend to get unstuck together on the floor and not elsewhere. The same applies to Mr Whalan, who has come in for some vigorous questioning. What is the Rally doing? The Rally is the flying wedge on a number of issues being raised, and the Rally tries to sift out the ever-increasing amount of
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