Page 3090 - Week 14 - Thursday, 7 December 1989
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Ms Follett: The Government.
Mr Humphries: You're the Opposition.
MR BERRY: The Government, I should say.
Mr Whalan: They're the opposition to employment; they're the opposition to development. That's what it is.
MR BERRY: The opposition to employment and development and indeed of course the opposition in - - -
MR SPEAKER: Your time has expired, Mr Berry.
MR KAINE (Chief Minister) (11.08): The Government opposes this motion. The Opposition has had the advantage of six months in government, when we allowed them to take the initiatives that governments should properly take. We allowed them every opportunity, every courtesy, to put their government business into effect. I must admit that for a lot of the time they simply had no business to put on the agenda. Despite the fact that they were in the government and they had the full weight of the ACT Administration behind them, there were days when we filled in the time on the notice paper because they had no business.
We allowed them 14 days when they took government. We allowed the Assembly to adjourn from 11 to 23 May because we thought it was fair that they should have adequate time to get their act together before they attempted to present their program and undertake the business of government. I would have hoped that they would have done us the same courtesy. But, no - talk about taking a dog-in-the-manger attitude - they are not even prepared to give us five minutes.
Mr Berry knows that the arrangements that have been in place for the last seven months under his Government were that private members' business be debated on the Wednesday morning of each sitting week, and that convention will continue into the future. If the members of the opposition have business, let them put it on the agenda, as we did when we were in opposition, and we will debate it in accordance with the conventions that you, in government, established.
To attempt to usurp the business of government, to deny us the right and the courtesy that we gave you to get your act together and present your business to the Assembly, I believe, is totally unreasonable. I am absolutely astounded that you, Mr Berry, the most reasonable of the four members opposite, would be the one to get up and present this view. I would think sensibly that on reflection - - -
Mr Whalan: You ought to be careful. You'll be getting a reputation.
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