Page 633 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 1990
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to Mr Duby and in addition to two departmental advisers, what is the current state of the guidelines and what is their relevance to anyone seeking to understand the Government of the ACT?
MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, I am quite intrigued with the obsession that members opposite have on this question of Executive Deputies. I must say they are obviously very thick because I keep explaining it in answer to their questions, and I will keep explaining it in answer to their questions until one of these days they begin to understand what the Executives are.
Mr Whalan - through you, Mr Speaker - the guidelines, as the title implies, are guidelines. As I said yesterday in answer to a similar question, the Ministers of this Government are executives with responsibilities and authorities in their own right and will interpret those guidelines as they see fit and I would expect them to. This is not a dictatorship, this is a government of equals - unlike the Labor Party which is a government by dictatorship and by caucus. That is not the way it works on this side of the house. Ministers make judgments as they are entitled to do and as, since yesterday, they are now magnificently paid to do. They exercise their judgment and as long as what they do is, on the face of it, reasonable and since Mr Whalan had no difficulty carting people around the countryside with him when he was a Minister, I cannot see what exception he could take to this Government doing the same thing. I am astounded that he keeps raising the question. Perhaps he will knock it off one of these days and get down to some sensible questions.
MR WHALAN: I have a supplementary question. Mr Kaine, is Mrs Nolan an expert on transport matters and, if so, what is the evidence of her expertise, and if not, what is the justification - - -
Mr Humphries: On a point of order, Mr Speaker; this is not a supplementary question. It does not relate to the previous question and it contains information which was not raised in the previous question.
MR SPEAKER: Objection overruled. Please proceed, Mr Whalan.
MR WHALAN: This is relating to the question - - -
Mr Duby: On a point of order, Mr Speaker; according to standing order 117(c)(i), this is seeking an expression of opinion and it is clearly not - - -
MR KAINE: I can answer the question factually; I am not worried by it.
MR WHALAN: Are you protecting your leader?
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