Page 3215 - Week 11 - Thursday, 13 September 1990
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produce for discussion in this parliament will not be perfect. But they are being introduced to further the interests of the community and to be on the table for proper debate in the legislature.
Mr Speaker, the proper course of action today is to defer voting on this provision until all of the members of the parliament have had the benefit of advice from senior counsel. To do otherwise is a disgrace.
MR BERRY (11.42): Mr Speaker, I rise to seek to facilitate the procurement of senior legal advice before this matter is decided. I will therefore move:
That the debate be now adjourned.
Question put.
The Assembly voted -
AYES, 8 NOES, 8
Mr Berry Mr Collaery
Mr Connolly Mr Duby
Ms Follett Mr Humphries
Mrs Grassby Mr Jensen
Mr Moore Mr Kaine
Mr Prowse Ms Maher
Mr Stevenson Mrs Nolan
Mr Wood Mr Stefaniak
Question so resolved in the negative.
MR BERRY (11.49): The actions of the Government members opposite have clearly demonstrated that they are more concerned about their own embarrassment about this issue than they are about the provisions that were intended by this Bill. The Attorney-General, of course, has locked himself into a position on this matter because he has been embarrassed in the past, and all of the talk from the Chief Minister in a reasoned tone, that it was somebody else's fault, is about justifying the position that they have locked themselves into. It is not about providing appropriate legislation for the people of Canberra. It is not about this house dealing appropriately with private members' business, though I must say that I did sense that the Chief Minister recognised that this was an important issue for Liberal Party members because there may be some of them in the next Legislative Assembly and, on today's assessment, it could be argued that they would be in opposition - certainly on the prospects that are reported to us through the media.
For the Chief Minister to be somewhat careful about his position in relation to this matter makes some sense, because the Chief Minister would not want to lock any future opposition into a position where it could not do anything in private members' business in terms of
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