Page 1693 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 29 May 1990
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for a member of a government, and particularly for a Minister, it is a very important and serious matter. But it does not seem that the Chief Minister considers it to be so serious. In the ACT there are dozens of people killed and injured on our roads. There is strong evidence to suggest that much of that is caused by the consumption of alcohol - and here we have a Chief Minister supporting a Minister who has been convicted of very serious offences under the Motor Traffic (Alcohol and Drugs) Act in the ACT.
Mr Duby refused to be subjected to the provisions of that Act, refused to take a breath test, which in itself is treated as a very serious offence, and was thus charged. Other issues that come into the consideration of this matter are also worthy of discussion. First of all, Mr Duby pleaded not guilty but then changed his plea to guilty. I say that those sorts of behavioural patterns - leave aside Mr Duby's change from what was once a No Self Government Party to an independent party - cast a very dark shadow over the Government opposite.
Mr Duby was subsequently found guilty, fined $900 and his licence was cancelled, as would be the case, I expect, with any other member of the community who was charged with this sort of offence. What was most interesting about it was that there was not a sound from the Chief Minister. Does that mean, Mr Speaker, that Mr Kaine was not concerned about it?
Mrs Nolan was involved in legal proceedings at the time, and in relation to the Opposition's consideration of the Duby matter it would, in my view, have been inappropriate to have had a long, drawn-out debate which may have been construed to have affected or interfered with the consideration of Mrs Nolan's case. I think that Mr Humphries, as a solicitor, would be aware of the sort of influence that that sort of debate may have had over the consideration of Mrs Nolan's case. Mr Humphries, it is a matter of deep shame that you suggested we should have got stuck into this issue when Mrs Nolan's case was before the court. Shame on you!
Mrs Nolan's drawn-out court case over the tax issue has come to a conclusion, with her being convicted and fined $1,100. There was no distinction in the courts between the two cases. They were heavy fines for very serious matters. As I have said earlier, Opposition members get no joy from seeing people in trouble with the law. But when it comes to the issue of government and to the performance of this Assembly and its credibility in the community, I for one will rise to do something about it, as will all of the members of the Labor Opposition. It is important to us and in the interests of democracy and this Territory that this Assembly, in some way, claws its way back to a position where it is held as a responsible organisation by the rest of the community.
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