Page 1729 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 29 May 1990
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But he did say that Robyn Nolan rightly stood down, and he got it right that time - for once he got it right tonight. He got it right - Robyn Nolan rightly stood down. That is where your Government set the standard in relation to the behaviour of people. Incidentally, she was not a Minister either. Your Chief Minister might well have rejected her decision to stand down if he had observed the same standards as he observed in the case of Mr Duby, who was involved in a very serious offence. We know that the Cabinet has considered this and that it does not think that it is very serious either. So you are all tarred with the same brush, as far as I can make out.
I am quoting from something that the Chief Minister said. To say that this is not regarded in the community as serious is absolutely outrageous. The community regards this as a very serious matter. I have said previously that nobody on this side of the house gets any joy out of people being in trouble with the law and having made mistakes. But we get less joy out of this place being discredited, and that is what is being done by the actions of the members opposite, with the exception of Mrs Nolan.
That is the standard you have set by accepting Mrs Nolan's resignation. All we got from the Chief Minister in this matter was a vitriolic and illogical argument. I say, Mr Speaker, that the Chief Minister is damned for that because he, like the others, has missed the point of the seriousness of Mr Duby's and his actions. Now that Mr Duby has failed to see the gravity of the situation, the Chief Minister has failed to see it as well. Here we have a government that is headed by somebody who has demonstrated his incompetence to manage a government that has anything to do with road safety. But it is this Chief Minister who had confidence in Mr Duby to argue on our behalf about the levels of propriety that should be observed by motorists in the ACT in relation to road safety issues, and in particular the level of alcohol that one might consume before one drives.
I find it difficult to believe that Robyn Nolan was not given the ultimatum: "Robyn, you had better stand down or we will give you the chop". Undoubtedly, Robyn Nolan, concerned for her party and the future of self-government in this Territory, knew very well that it was so serious as to require her to do something which showed an element of good judgment, and I think she did that. As I said earlier, whether or not Robyn joins us in the next Assembly is a matter for the electorate, but in terms of her performance as part of the Government it could only be considered to be honourable. I can understand why she would be feeling pretty miserable about the fact that Mr Duby does not even seem to recognise what he has done. It is surprising to me.
Mr Speaker, this issue comes back to the members of this house having some pride in self-government of the Territory
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