Page 3083 - Week 14 - Thursday, 7 December 1989
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In any other parliament in the Westminster system, when a motion of censure is raised it is listed for immediate debate. That should be the case in this parliament. If the people opposite have a respect for the parliamentary tradition, they will support the proposal that Mr Whalan outlined. They may argue the case for or against later, but they should support the right of Mr Whalan to move a censure motion. It is one of great priority.
We have today a new government that is coming to present its face to the people for the first time. They were gagged yesterday; they were not able to do that then, so this is the first occasion on which they can come to the people. Before they can do that, a challenge has been made - a censure has been proposed - and it is now the first task of this new Government to establish its credentials. I would suggest to you that, if you seek to evade this long-established and recognised responsibility, you will be immediately doing what you did last Tuesday; that is, if you do not engage in this debate, you will be moving a motion of no confidence in yourself. That is the measure of this.
Mr Kaine: Come on, Bill.
MR WOOD: You may laugh; you may treat it lightly.
Mr Collaery: You are wasting our time this morning. That's the new flavour of your opposition.
MR WOOD: No. You have been challenged. The challenge is to you. You can accept it or you can try to bypass it. If someone had challenged my integrity, I would want to stand up immediately and defend it. I believe that a new government could not proceed unless it was able to justify its integrity, to prove its point. Or is it that Mr Kaine and Mr Collaery do not want to engage in this debate? Has a problem developed in the background to the motion put on Tuesday that they do not now want explored? It is a challenge to Mr Collaery, to Mr Kaine and to the people who sit with them. It is a challenge that they will avoid at their peril.
MR MOORE (10.40): Mr Speaker - - -
MR KAINE (Chief Minister): I move:
That the question be now put.
Mr Moore: The gag - after I deferred to allow him to speak, too!
MR SPEAKER: Based on the fact that Mr Moore actually stood first, Chief Minister, I direct that we allow Mr Moore to speak before the gag. Please proceed, Mr Moore.
MR MOORE: Mr Speaker, what we have at stake here is the reputation of the Assembly, and that is why I am interested
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