Page 1551 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 27 September 1989
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
What the ALP supports is a legislature which allows the highest degree of community participation and which will, on balance, lead to a more enlightened form of government -
Something that we have not seen much of here today, I might add.
Mr Moore: You are the Government and you are not enlightened? I love it.
MR BERRY: It is all about the numbers, as we have been informed here several times today, Mr Moore, and it is all about the power of the numbers to be able to switch things off at will, even when you have not thought them through. Let me continue:
The community participation should not, however, be limited to only providing information in consultative processes, but should include direct participation in the decision-making process. For a successful democratic process, elected representatives need to be totally accountable.
That is the sort of message that should ring true to democrats in this place. They seem to be pretty thin on the ground. The ACT community was cynical about our Government when we started off on this process, but it now rightfully expects to have accountable representatives. The sort of behaviour that has gone on in connection with this Bill will lead to a continuance of that cynicism. I am certain that people will hold the members of this Assembly accountable for this decision. You can rest assured that I for one and, I suggest, other members of my party will repeatedly advise them of the performance of the other members in this house on this issue today.
The Rally's commitment to public consultation on planning, as stated in its platform, does not extend to municipal planning issues such as fluoridation. The Resident's Rally selectively drops the whole consultation. Of course, it does not suit them sometimes, but that has been the pattern that we have become used to.
Mr Moore: Rubbish!
MR BERRY: It is a whim. There is no public consultation on this issue; it is just a matter of the Rally, closeted behind closed doors, developing a quick policy and whipping it in - no public consultation.
Mr Collaery: It was in our election mandate.
MR BERRY: No consultation. We know for sure that you did not copy this policy from ours, because we did not have it then.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .