Page 3112 - Week 14 - Thursday, 7 December 1989
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I thought one of the most important interjections that came from Mr Collaery today was when we were on the floor debating and he said, "You're wasting taxpayers' money". That is his idea of democracy. His idea of democracy is not for us to be in this chamber with the Government under scrutiny, with the Government under pressure, with us analysing the deep divisions, the inconsistencies that exist within this Government.
Quite clearly, there was one that we saw there today when we moved the censure motion - which they, of course, ran away from and broke all the conventions. They broke every convention of the parliamentary process. It is the invariable practice of parliaments in the Westminster system, it is the invariable practice of parliaments within Australia, that as soon as a censure motion is moved in relation to a Minister that motion is immediately debated.
But they ran away from it. They ran scared. They were not prepared to debate that particular issue. Then they, of course, applied the gag. When we tried to suspend standing orders in order to have that issue debated, Mr Kaine applied the gag. Once again, we see an abuse of democracy. Then we see this motion here today - this one that we are currently debating, Mr Speaker - which seeks to deny private members that sacred right. A sacred right of the parliamentary process is the right of private members to raise issues in that period of time designated to them for private members' business. Sacrilege! Sacrilege on the parliamentary process! An act of desecration of the parliamentary process by denying the right to debate private members' business!
One of the features of the previous Government was that we adopted the procedure that we discussed with all groups within the Assembly - and that was eventually refined to a process of a meeting on the Mondays of the parliamentary sitting week - the business of the Assembly for the coming sitting period. That was a practice which resulted in quite harmonious conduct of the business of the Assembly. The net result of that was that the conduct of business was quite straightforward. All members of the Assembly knew how it was going to proceed. All members of the Assembly, Mr Speaker, knew precisely what the business before the Assembly at any point of time would be.
We knew what Bills were going to be discussed. We cooperated in reordering legislation to suit the convenience of different members of the Assembly who wanted to make a contribution. Indeed, I must congratulate so many members for the very constructive contribution that they have made in debating the legislation which was initiated by the Government during those last few months of the Follett Government.
So we had very close cooperation with all the elements of the Assembly at that point in time. Now, what has happened is that all of a sudden there is no consultation with the
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