Page 665 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 1990
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Whalan-Follett Government or the Follett-Whalan Government - we were never sure of that either.
We have a generally competent Assembly. Most of the Assembly people are working conscientiously to achieve results. The issues that offend the public are those relating to the gamesmanship that goes on here occasionally. One has only to look at Hansard of recent days to see the deterioration, and a deteriorating situation it is, Mr Speaker. Day after day, we have a record of Mr Whalan's comments. On the last evening on which we sat, after I had been working all day and had been in my office - I was sober and had not had dinner - his words quoted in Hansard are:
... I know that Mr Collaery has been out for dinner -
whereas I had not -
and I can understand that he is half-pissed ...
Yesterday in this Assembly, as I was speaking, he said:
Stop wanking. Sit down, you wanker.
He went on, and his behaviour continues. Is that the sort of performance that the ACT ratepayer wants in this house? Did I get elected to be treated in that way? Is it proper for Mr Whalan, if he is so troubled by past events, to continue that behaviour in this house? Is the present Opposition geared to opposition? Can it operate without the public service? Is it capable of working with this Assembly? It has not proven itself internally capable of working within its factions. I suggest that the real essence - and my colleagues will get up to give further detail - of stable government, proper government, is in our performance in the Assembly and, more importantly, in the community with the community groups.
In that most difficult and testing publication the Canberra Times there have been quite a few editorial endorsements of the Alliance Government. I do not hold the Canberra Times up as our benchmark, but the Opposition is alone in saying that our performance has been disgraceful. It is alone, and it joins only its Labor kind to pursue that issue.
Was it proper, truly, of the former Minister for housing to start that fracas over the Northbourne Flats? Is that the performance of a proper Opposition? Does it really indicate that, in government, that Opposition had any greater level of responsibility? That was a cruel event. Fortunately for Mrs Grassby's physical security she was not there when I met with the tenants; they were pretty cranky. That is the style of the Opposition.
Coming on shortly is a motion by the Opposition to deal with the failure of this Government to reappoint the
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