Page 1905 - Week 09 - Thursday, 19 October 1989
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it, who else is going to do it? Clearly, only one group; that is other parties in this place.
If the Government provides us with no opportunity of advance notice of these Bills and brings them on two weeks from when they are to be debated and interposes an Estimates Committee to tie up all our energies in that period, how are people supposed to arrange for the proper debating of these issues and proper consultation? Clearly they cannot. The Government stands condemned for its action. I give notice to the Government that, if it does not change its policy and provide the same information that its colleagues in Federal Parliament provide and a proper detailed legislative program, it can expect dire consequences in this place.
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister): Mr Speaker, I claim to have been misrepresented. Mr Humphries has accused me of being vague, of providing less information than is provided in other parliaments with regard to our legislative program. I can only repeat what I have said in the answer that I just gave to Mr Humphries' former question. In fact the information has been conveyed to party leaders on a regular basis in a meeting that is held each sitting week with the Deputy Chief Minister. I am now formalising that process to assist party leaders to convey the information to their other party members by providing a weekly legislation program in written form to party leaders during those regular meetings. I refer also to the final part of the answer which I just gave to Mr Humphries' question, and I will repeat the laws that we plan to introduce before the end of this year.
Mr Humphries: You said "including". There are only those four you mentioned. There are others too, are there not, Chief Minister?
MS FOLLETT: I will read the entire answer again, Mr Speaker, if that is what is required. Mr Speaker, the legislation which is currently under development is privacy; anti-discrimination; domestic violence matters; the regulation of vehicle size and weight in the ACT; the establishment of a register of vehicle encumbrance; revenue measures associated with the budget - and if you have read the budget you will see that there are quite a number of matters there - the control of dangerous weapons; the control of clinical waste; and measures to contain legionnaire's disease. Now, when you take that together with the number of Bills that are already on the notice paper, I would point out that I wrote to every party leader in this Assembly to offer them a briefing on all of the Bills which are on the notice paper in my name. I have not had a reply.
Mr Kaine: I rise on a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Chief Minister is grossly misrepresenting the situation. She said that she has had no reply to her offer to brief. We have had briefings from several departmental officers on
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