Page 2089 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 5 June 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
overseas. I welcome the Chinese people who are here with us this evening. On behalf of the Labor team in the Assembly, I would like to show our strong support for their cause and wish with them that better things will come to pass in China as soon as possible.
Tiananmen Square Memorial
MR MOORE (11.00): Mr Speaker, I would like to lend my support to the general sentiments expressed in the house tonight, but I will draw the attention of members and our guests to the fact that there is a difference between what we say and what we do. I will take you back to 26 April of this year when I asked the following question of the Chief Minister:
On 12 March, Professor Jenner wrote to him on behalf of the China Support Group asking the Government to provide a public site for a plaque in memory of the victims who were massacred in Tiananmen Square. Can he please inform the Assembly whether he has decided on a site, where it will be, and why he had not answered the letter as of 20 April 1990.
Mr Kaine replied:
The answer to the three questions is no, the Government has not decided on any of those issues, and the principal reason is that that letter was brought to my attention only on Tuesday of this week. I do not know how long it has been in the system or where it has been, but it was brought to my attention on Tuesday. The matter will be taken up by the Government. It raises questions of foreign relations and how far this Government ought to be getting into the business of supporting or not supporting foreign governments or the actions taken by foreign nationals. It is not a simple question of whether we know the bark on a tree. The Government will consider it in due course.
Considering the short notice, that was an acceptable answer. I asked a supplementary question as follows:
Will the Chief Minister report back to the Assembly on his decision?
The answer was:
Not necessarily. I am sure that, if we decide to put up a plaque, it will be generally known.
That was a totally dismissive answer, so I am going to put the question again. I hope that this evening the
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .