Page 1358 - Week 07 - Thursday, 24 August 1989
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office services on a continuing basis is that it means the splitting of income, an avoidance of pay-as-you-earn tax which would be paid by a personal staff member employed in the normal way. We have heard from Mr Stevenson already the kinds of savings that can be made in terms of matters like workers compensation and other arrangements, which I regard as the normal entitlement of a staff member working for a member of this Assembly. I am appalled that he would put forward such savings as something which this Assembly might find an attractive proposition. I cannot support either part of Mr Stevenson's motion. Mr Speaker, I would implore this Assembly to set some kind of standard and throw out both parts of this motion.
MR WOOD (3.39): Mr Stevenson, when he started, said that the quality of support staff or the amount of support staff - I am not quite sure of the words - was a key factor in what we do in this Assembly. I grant that they are very important, but the key factor is surely the member, who stands up, works, and prepares himself or herself for what goes on here. I have a support staff member upstairs and basically that person is my electorate officer who handles all the range of electorate matters. What I do in this chamber and what I do on the committees is my work. It is hard work. I work long and hard hours, as we all do, and I enjoy it. I do not complain one bit about that.
Let us be very clear; the point I want to make is that we take responsibility as we stand up here and present ourselves. Let us separate the party from the parliament, and let us be clear what the administrative roles are within the Government. I fully accept that my ministerial colleagues who form the Government will have adequate staff to enable those governmental processes to proceed, and that the Leader of the Opposition likewise will have that. Indeed, there was a further concession to the Residents Rally group because they were given additional staffing at the secretarial level, if my memory is correct.
But let us understand that there are separate functions. I do not have any figures available, and I have got limited experience elsewhere but more experience than most in that respect; I think we have more staff around our members than you would find in any State parliament, though not perhaps in the Federal Parliament.
Let us look at the history of this. On the first day that most of us arrived here, we walked into a dozen rooms on the first floor that had been prepared for us. Mr Speaker, you will know that at least one of our members pulled a name off the door and would not touch that room. From the first day, we were making demands - I say "we" - on the Administration, on the government yet to arrive, about our conditions. Mr Speaker, you know that. I might say that I am the only member still in the room that I went to, and I am quite happy to be there. Everybody has moved on, mostly to bigger and grander things. Since Mr Stevenson makes a claim today, I will raise a matter that peeved me somewhat,
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