Page 391 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 21 February 1990
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opposite. It should be below a person of Mr Humphries' status to make those sorts of accusations when they are blatantly incorrect. There was plenty of negotiation about what the committee structure would be like, and all he could do was heap criticism on the then Government over the establishment of committees.
Mr Humphries: I did not say that. I said that there were no guarantees or undertakings.
MR BERRY: You have had your chance to speak. Now you just have to accept that that was the case. Anyway, I think it is important to get this matter out in the open in relation to the performance of this Assembly in the public's eyes. Therefore, I move a further amendment to the proposed amendment:
That the following words be added after "ACT":
and that a select committee of this Assembly be established to recommend to the Assembly the appropriate arrangements for policing in the ACT.
That select committee would bring the issue out into the open and I hope that the Government would take a position whereby the ACT community is fully informed about this Assembly's position on policing. I have yet to see signs of acceptance or rejection from the other side, but I would hope that the bipartisan approach that we often look for in issues of general concern to the community and in issues in which party politics should in some cases be pushed aside for the general good, will eventuate. I think a bipartisan approach is probably most appropriate in this case.
The amendment, which I have put forward in the light of Mr Collaery's amendment, is a vehicle for achieving a bipartisan approach on the policing future for the ACT. I expect that some of the concerns raised by Government members would be dealt with by that committee - specifically, the issue of dealing with members of the Police Association. Its views should be taken into account in relation to this, and I would expect that it is the business of this Assembly to talk to members of the Police Association about what the future might hold for policing in the Territory.
In closing, I call on the Government to exercise a bit of flexibility in its approach. I think it is important that the people of Canberra see that this Assembly is conducting its business in an open way, particularly on such an important matter as the development of a police force in the Territory, and that it cannot be accused of going behind closed doors on such an issue.
MR JENSEN (11.49): I will be brief. I have listened to this debate with interest, and unfortunately it appears to me that we have here a face-saving move by part of the Labor Opposition to compensate for its failure to act
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