Page 1871 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 30 May 1990
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what to do. Imagine the pressures to which they would have to respond. This town heard the Chief Minister on a radio program this morning, and that was reassuring. There is no doubt in the world that the message that we and the Canberra people are receiving is that there is a balanced government in power at the moment. It does not have the extremes of ideology. It has no extremes of ideology.
You are seeing the Alliance Government working for the benefit of all citizens in this Territory. There is lots of good information coming in, but we will not accept all of it. You are not prepared to analyse it and be responsible. You have to take up question time making cheap shots at what I would say, when you consider all the Ministers in this country at the moment, is a very gallant, young Minister of the Crown. You have not let him alone for the last few weeks.
You have had your drongos over at school meetings, spiking the meetings with catcallers, disturbances, questioners and all the rest - typical Labor Party tactics. I have seen them at meetings. You sent one over on Sunday. We had a good, rational meeting at a school last Sunday, and along came one of your Labor people who had nothing to contribute, just to yell out and make accusations.
Mr Duby: They stack their own. Why would they not stack everyone else's?
MR COLLAERY: Of course. What are we faced with? Would it be Ms Follett back in power? I do not know. Who would be the deputy leader? Clearly they do not want to put their most competent operator anywhere. Mr Bill Wood has been given the room, but not the chair, and everyone knows that. What a way to treat your colleagues! What a divided bunch! Who is the grand moraliser of the Assembly? I must admit that I am warming to my colleague - I like his ties - but he was not elected. As an unelected member, not in his second term after he faced the people, he has chosen, in his first term, to go on about the morality of the chamber.
Why did you not choose one of yourselves? Why did you give it to the newest member and expose him to the very strong response which he got yesterday? It did not gladden my heart to see this young lawyer coming into the chamber and copping it all because you put him up front, knowing that he would get all the criticism. Here is a crowd that scuttles off. Let the Hansard show that whenever there is a good debate going we rarely see the Leader of the Opposition in the chamber. I would really like to put a stopwatch on it, to know when she is prepared to come down here and face this solid debate.
Mr Speaker, the Supply Bill for the ACT presents us with the opportunity of looking at the balance sheet for the Territory. What is the balance sheet today? It is that you are not prepared to allow rational debate on an issue that Mr Humphries opened for debate. He did no more than
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