Page 1951 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 24 October 1989
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community. I want to conclude by saying that the information being sought here is not mere administrative or procedural information; it is essential information. Information is not withdrawn or kept from the public and from the opposition without dire consequences. We have seen that.
The omission of the Government to provide the information affects not only the work of MLAs in this place but also the information the community has. Its failure to provide the information is nothing short of cowardice. If the Government is afraid to provide even so much as titles of Bills it plans to produce, it leads me to the conclusion that, in fact, the Government has no legislative program. The Government has no program.
It is prepared to supply the names of five, six or eight Bills it may introduce but is not prepared to supply any more information than that because that is as far as it goes. Chief Minister, is that not the case? That is as far as it goes. You have got a few Bills you know are going to come up and you do not have any others and you cannot supply any other names - an appalling position.
This Government pays lip-service to consultation, but it hides from it when the going gets tough. Mr Speaker, I have no more to say on this matter except that I hope that the Government, rather than taking this matter as simply a rebuke from this Assembly, will actually take action on it. I believe, if it does so, this place will work better. It has every reason to expect better cooperation from the parties in this Assembly if we have better notice of what is going to occur and I sincerely hope the Government will not be intransigent on this matter.
MR COLLAERY (3.35): Mr Speaker, the motion really reflects the - - -
Mr Whalan: There is no motion.
MR COLLAERY: The MPI. I do not know the text of the motion myself yet, Mr Speaker, but the MPI, if it suggests a - - -
Ms Follett: Were you not consulted?
MR COLLAERY: I do not know the text of the motion and have not been consulted about the motion, Mr Speaker. The constant speculation about the relationship between the Rally and the Liberal Party seems to have gotten to the Government as well.
Mr Speaker, the MPI is about the total failure of the Labor Government to provide a forward program to enable Assembly members and, through them, the public to properly scrutinise government legislation. The real problem for this Government is that it is a minority government. It has sought to survive in this Assembly by playing one party
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