Page 2904 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 15 August 1990
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import of matters in legislation or in proposed legislation. They could then take it along to their members, discuss it and possibly have time to make submissions. They could meet with their members and do something effective about it.
We also need time for the media. I see there is nobody here at the moment to report on this matter of public importance so the public can find out what has happened, a common occurrence once questions without notice are done. I think we well understand that once you get towards 4 o'clock in this house we could actually declare world war III in the ACT and unless someone took it out to the media there would be no likelihood whatsoever that it would be reported unless it was brought up the next day - if at all. There actually needs to be - - -
Mr Jensen: They are listening, Dennis. They are probably in their rooms listening.
MR STEVENSON: Yes, we know. Let someone come down here and say, "I was listening" then, if that is the case. They can show me the point. Nobody leave this room.
There needs to be a way for Canberrans to find out about every single item of proposed legislation that passes through this Assembly. At the moment there is no effective way for this to happen.
Mr Jensen: The Canberra Times should do that.
MR STEVENSON: Once again, if we leave it up to the media to do it, unfortunately it will not be done. We need to do it ourselves. The "Speaker's Column" in the Canberra Chronicle is an excellent move towards letting Canberrans know. It, however, does not go anywhere near far enough. We need to have a list of all Bills and when they were presented to the house. People in the community should be given two weeks' notice that any Bill - and we would obviously know the ones they are concerned about - is going to be debated and specifically when it is going to be debated so they can come along and listen to the debate. I realise there might be some mild inconvenience in this for members of this Assembly, but I think the public interest is far more important than any mild inconvenience we may suffer by fitting in with the right of people to know what is happening to them in Canberra.
As MLAs we need time for fair research, consideration and debate. First of all, and I highlight this matter, we need to read the Bill. I think it should be against the law to vote on a Bill that a member of parliament has not read. Unfortunately, and I can well understand why, this happens all too often. The time pressures are incredible in this place. If we had the situation where there was more time, that would resolve the problem. I do not think there are going to be too many people in this house who can stand up and say, "I have read every Bill that has ever gone before this Assembly that I have voted on".
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