Page 1825 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 18 October 1989
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Finally, the fluoride issue was very successfully exploited by those who want to bring down our new party. I assure the Assembly that they will not succeed. The Rally stands firm on this issue, as it does on every other issue, and the fact that we squirm publicly sometimes is just a symptom of the evolution of government in this Territory.
MR WOOD (3.40): One of the most frequent introductions to a speech in any parliament goes something like this: "Mr Speaker, I was not going to speak in this debate" - and I was not.
Mr Kaine: Well said, Bill. Sit down.
MR WOOD: All right. Indeed, for three weeks since this was last debated, I have not referred publicly to the issue of fluoride. Let me be quite precise. I think, since the day of that last debate or, to be extra careful, at least the day after that, I have said nothing about the issue on the basis that, as a member of that committee, it was incumbent upon me to remove preconceived ideas from my mind and to refrain from a debate. So I am not going to enter into the debate today on issues. I am only going to talk about objectivity, since that matter has been raised today.
It is interesting for me, perhaps not for you, but for many years I have been interested in language and its use and abuse. It probably stems from my days when I did some philosophical study. At that time the study of language was considered highly important, and for a couple of years I laboured away at that and it did create in me quite a considerable interest in the subject. I have an interest in the use of language, the use of words, the meaning of words, the understanding of words and whether what I say is what you understand or vice versa. Quite a deal of discussion on language is always of interest to me.
That has led to a further interest, a long-standing one, in the concept of that word "objectivity" and it is interesting that it has arisen today. For something like 38 years I have been a member of the Australian Labor Party. I joined from a very young age, and that brings, as I am sure many of you now know, some criticism. On many occasions I have been told, "How can I listen to you? What notice can I take of you? You are biased". That is a frequent comment, or, "You are politically prejudiced", or, "You have got preconceived ideas". Such comments come to me often and it hurts, I might say, because I have often focused on the matter of objectivity and for all my political partisanship I have worked very hard over the years to retain objectivity. It is not always easy, of course, and especially so when you are in the political realm.
I intend to do all I can to see that my objectivity is carried through into this inquiry. This was queried today, and I debated earlier in a radio broadcast the question
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