Page 908 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 27 March 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
salutary reminder to those who administer this legislation that they may be prosecuted for wilful, reckless indifference to this legislation. I commend the present clause 5 to the house.
MR BERRY (8.17): I think there needs to be a further distillation of what has been argued here this evening. First of all, it is clear from clause 4 that the legislation binds the Crown. But one of the things that Mr Collaery carefully avoided was the issue of a private person taking action against the Crown. That is really the issue that is addressed by the amendment which has been proposed by my colleague Mrs Grassby.
Clause 5 clearly prevents a private person, as was said by Mrs Grassby, taking action against the Crown in the case where the Crown breaches the legislation, or it would prevent a private person taking action to prevent the Crown breaching the legislation. As Mrs Grassby predicted, the Government argued that, as the Bill bound the Crown, there is no need for the Crown to be liable to prosecution.
I notice that Mr Collaery has disappeared from the scene. He does not seem to be very interested in this matter. I recall that in an earlier debate great weight was put behind the fact that certain members of this house were - - -
Mr Duby: Yourself included.
Mr Kaine: Including you.
MR BERRY: I hit the soft spot.
Mr Kaine: Yes, you are touching on the soft spot. You were not here for an hour and a half.
MR BERRY: All these people who are not here on the benches opposite had the gall this afternoon to accuse the Opposition of - - -
Mr Kaine: People who live in glasshouses should not throw rocks.
MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, call these clowns to order.
Mr Kaine: You started it.
Mrs Grassby: No, you started it today, remember?
Mr Jensen: On a point of order, Mr Speaker; it is a personal reflection under standing order 55. Mr Berry has referred to "the clowns opposite". I think we have been through this before. Let us not start this nonsense again.
MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, there was a reflection that this place was a circus, and I withdraw that.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .