Page 1836 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 18 October 1989
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taken - one by the Canberra Times and one by a television channel - in the last few days showed that the community is fairly evenly divided on this question.
Mr Stevenson: What about the 56 per cent in the Chronicle?
MR KAINE: What about the 55 per cent that came out of the Channel 10 poll the other night? It all depends on whom you want to quote. But the fact is that the numbers are around 50 per cent, give or take a bit. Fifty per cent of people in the main seem to want fluoride; 50 per cent do not. I was criticised a little while ago by Mr Prowse, who was saying that I would get no applause for taking what I believe to be a reasonable view, but he is dead wrong because 50 per cent of the population will applaud this step. On top of that, there will be an increasing percentage of people who see the sense in being reasonable instead of unreasonable. So I would submit, Mr Prowse, that you are dead wrong. I will probably get about an 85 per cent popularity rating tomorrow, and that will be the reciprocal of yours.
Mrs Grassby: Trevor, you couldn't be any more popular.
MR KAINE: No, I know, and it will be the reciprocal of Mr Prowse's; that is the point that I wanted to make. There were some suggestions during the debate that this was a political issue. The facts of the matter simply disprove that assertion. If I, as the leader of the Liberals, had wanted to turn this into a political issue, I would have stuck with the non-fluoriders, had a majority in this house and could probably be taking government tomorrow. So much for your accusation of making political gain out of it! The other thing that I could have done, if I had really wanted to use political clout, if that is what you are on about, was join with the Labor Party and support the repeal Bill, and the issue would have been dead. I did neither of those things.
Mr Stevenson: Not dead. It would have been repealed, granted.
MR KAINE: Yes, and your issue would have been dead because your Bill would have been out the door. I did neither of those things. I am taking a course that allows you to present your case over a long period, produce your technical evidence, medical evidence, and community view and, if it supports you, your case is won. Yet you sit there and accuse me of trying to make some political gain - absolutely absurd, and I throw your words back at you to demonstrate that that is true.
They are not content with taking the political line. We then get down to personalities. Why we cannot have a debate on the floor of this house without getting down to a question of personalities, why we do not address the issues, is beyond me. Mr Prowse raised the question of courage. Courage is a very worthwhile attribute. Mr
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