Page 1802 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 18 October 1989
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Let us also be aware that the community, like the Liberals, is split on this. The several polls that we have seen - and I imagine there will be more - have pointed to this split, and the community is divided. When the Deputy Chief Minister talks about this Assembly being brought into disrepute and ridicule - and I have suggested that a great deal of that is through their politicking - he ought also to realise that in passing the Bill that we have before us we can expect to come in for more ridicule. People will now say, "The ACT Government can't even make up its own mind". They will not take into account that it is a very different system, that we have a minority government and that that is part and parcel of the nature of our particular makeup. But if members do support this, we will be in for more ridicule.
Let me emphasise again that I would like the Government to consider, as an administrative matter, that it may be for the benefit of the people of Canberra to take account of the levels of fluoride that are being delivered to people and to consider, at the very least, reducing the level of fluoride going into our water.
I am delighted to see that the Deputy Chief Minister has now decided, on this very important, very urgent Bill, to attend this sitting, apart from the time that he was present to deliver his own speech. I am particularly delighted that he is able to be here to listen to me.
The consultation process has been part and parcel of what is going on already; it is already in place. It is not necessary to change, because the debate is about changing it from what we have now, a level ground debate, to return to what you refer to as status quo. The fact that we have to return makes it circular, because it is no longer the status quo. However, that seems to be what a combination of Labor and Liberal parties is going to give us.
Finally, I would just like to go back to the Deputy Chief Minister's comments. He quoted, as I recall, from the Financial Times, and referred to the word "NIMBY". I have just had a little bit of thinking about "LABOR", which could be "Living Alongside Bumptious Old Ratbags" - and I wonder who they are - it could be a "Loose Association for Bulldozing Our Residents"; it could be "Lost Alliance" - or Last Alliance perhaps - "for Bothering Our Residents". So we could all play those sort of games, as indeed the Financial Times did. On that note, let me point out that we do have a consultation process already going. Let us stick with what we have got. Let us not put ourselves up to further ridicule.
Debate adjourned.
Sitting suspended from 12.37 to 2.30 pm
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