Page 3351 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 18 September 1990
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minority government, and I am proposing that we do what is more normal in Westminster parliaments, and that is establish a representative Estimates Committee of a limited number of people.
Ms Follett: Give yourself the numbers; that is what you mean.
MR KAINE: You can nominate for membership. In the democratic process you can nominate for membership and I am sure that your colleagues will support you in electing you to the membership of that committee, if that is what you wish. But, of course, if you want to abstain like you do most of the time on the floor of the Assembly, you do not need to nominate yourself; it is as simple as that.
Mr Moore: Will the Ministers abstain?
MR KAINE: It is not appropriate for the four Ministers to be members because they will be questioned by the Estimates Committee on their estimates.
Mr Moore: Will they abstain from the vote for the members of the committee?
MR KAINE: Do not talk nonsense. Where in the parliamentary system in Australia do members abstain from electing other members of the parliament to committees? That is not normal either.
Mr Speaker, my proposal is before the Assembly. I am quite sure that some members will want to debate it vigorously; but I submit that we need to establish the Estimates Committee before we adjourn tonight so that we can, tomorrow or whenever members are prepared to do so, elect members to it so that the process of analysing the budget in detail can begin and can be completed in time for the committee to report back early in November.
MR BERRY (8.31): The Labor Opposition is opposed to the motion which has been moved by Mr Kaine. As Mr Kaine rightly says, it has become natural to oppose most of the activities of the Liberal-Residents Rally Government opposite because of the philosophical void between the two sides of the house.
Mr Collaery: We can be hard and have a social justice platform at the same time. You do not know anything about it.
MR BERRY: Mr Collaery talks about social justice. He could not even spell it. Mr Speaker, again the Chief Minister has had selective amnesia about the facts in relation to the establishment of an Estimates Committee in this place and the precedents which were set by the Follett Labor Government when it was in office. The noisy lot opposite are not going to like this medicine because it points out the flaws in what the Chief Minister has said.
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