Page 1873 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 30 May 1990
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Connolly in one of his statements on radio recently. We thank him for that because that is the decent approach to it. Why can you not wait to have a go in 1992 and let us try to get the Territory organised until then? Then we will take you on. Then we will stand on our record, and you can stand on yours.
Mr Wood: You couldn't wait, could you?
MR COLLAERY: But you cannot do that. Sadly, even Mr Wood is starting to fire off a few salvos. The press have just asked me how I said on the floor today, in supporting a motion, that the Rally had joined the Liberal Party. This type of immature political response to the processes of the new Assembly is really doing none of us any good today.
We opposed a motion today that did not carry a logical conclusion, which Mr Wood moved. But it has gone out. Press comments have been made, and we have to put aside good ministerial time to put down all these pinpricks. We will, and the people will get sick of the diversions.
I have met some of the community groups that you worked over recently. I saw them afterwards. I met with them again, and I can assure you that they were reasoned meetings. They were grateful, in the main part, to hear the issues dispassionately and understand the problems of the Territory. That is a concession that you do not give Mr Humphries. He goes to meeting after meeting to be catcalled down by a sort of hired brigade of people - - -
Mr Berry: Rightly so.
MR COLLAERY: Yes, organised by our union organiser here.
We saw that during the election campaign - those funny faces of those people who asked questions at all those meetings, and some of them even turned up again as acolytes somewhere.
We know, Mr Speaker, that in dealing with this Supply Bill we will deal with that expenditure for the benefit of all Canberrans. It will not be for the benefit of the Liberal Party, the Rally or the Independents Group. It will be directed to the benefit of all Canberrans. That is the way we are doing it. It is also balanced government. You know full well - you will not admit it - that there might be a range of political views on this side of the floor but that they are well balanced, well met, and I am sure we do not have the arguments that you have in your little factional disputes. Certainly, we have this destabilising time coming up in 1992 when the Labor Party in the Territory has its perennial preselection squabbles, and we will see whether the left here, which has a temporary hold on the chamber, will be sustained in a cross-current to all the rest of the right-wing power in this country in the Labor Party.
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