Page 3151 - Week 15 - Thursday, 14 December 1989
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Clearly, Mr Speaker, it is quite wrong for Mr Collaery to say that there is now an opposition which consists of one party. There are as many groupings in the opposition now as there were in the opposition previously. There are three groupings, and that was the number of groupings in the opposition previously. So it is quite clear that that is totally inaccurate.
As to the opposition's reaction to the Government's proposal on committees, Mr Speaker, I will leave those comments to be made by the Leader of the Opposition, but I just want to reiterate that there was no opportunity for consultation. It was a direct laid down misere: the executive has decided; you will cop it.
MS FOLLETT (Leader of the Opposition) (11.39): Mr Speaker, we in opposition do find ourselves in some difficulty with Mr Collaery's motion concerning committees because, as Mr Whalan has pointed out, we were presented with an edict yesterday of what the coalition Government believed was the most appropriate form of committee structure for this Assembly. Mr Whalan has got very precise notes of his discussion with Mrs Nolan on that occasion, and that is what we have based all our remarks upon the committee structure on.
If the motion that has been moved today is in some way different from that, or even if it is not, Mr Speaker, it is quite wrong to say that this matter has been the subject of consultation. There has been no consultation. We have not been asked at all what our view is of the committee structure, what committees we would like to participate in, and how we see the opposition contributing most usefully to this Assembly's committees. That sort of consultation has not taken place, and it is very wrong to say that it has.
I have referred previously to the excellent work that has been done by the committees of this Assembly, and I stand by that, but I believe that the reason the committees have been effective is that they have involved all of the groups in this Assembly and quite a large number of people, up to five, on some committees. The edict that we were presented with yesterday reflects a reduced membership on committees, down to three members, and on the vast majority of committees there are two Government members and only one other member.
Mr Humphries: That is quite standard. What is unusual about that?
Mr Kaine: We are two-thirds of the size of the Assembly.
Mr Humphries: If you were in government you would be doing the same thing.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Address your comments through the Chair.
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