Page 3363 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 18 September 1990
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bizarre variation to the motion that was put by Mr Kaine. Mr Stevenson said that this matter is a matter of public interest, and it certainly is. He also said something along the lines that money does not matter, which reminded me of his speech last Thursday, I believe, where once again he seemed to point out that money did not matter; it was only a matter of opinion. What we are talking about is the Estimates Committee. We are talking about the people who are going to review the Government's expenditure in a whole range of areas.
I personally find no difficulty whatsoever with the view that the Estimates Committee should match the same lines of the other committees of the Government - of the Assembly.
Mr Moore: "Committees of the Government". You said it.
MR DUBY: Of the Assembly. There should be five members of each. People have recognised over a period of time that the membership of committees is limited in this Assembly. We do not have the luxury of hundreds of members or over a hundred members, as there are in other assemblies, or even over three score, as they have in virtually every other parliament in the Commonwealth. To my way of thinking, to have five members is perfectly practical and perfectly sensible. To my way of thinking also, I have no hesitation in saying that proportional representation should apply.
Accordingly, once again, if you were going to apply the rules according to this Assembly and its membership, you would have a committee of 17 for every single matter that came before this Assembly. Mr Speaker, that is clearly unworkable, it is clearly unfeasible and it is clearly unusable. Five has been determined, Mr Speaker, as a practical working arrangement which fits the working arrangements of this Assembly. I have no difficulty with having five on any committee because five will guarantee a cross-section of opinion that meets all members of this community, including all members of this Assembly.
Mr Moore: It is your budget; that is your side of it.
MR DUBY: Mr Speaker, we are hearing objections from one-seventeenth of the Assembly over there - the man with a big mouth, the man who wants to object at every opportunity, the man who raises points of order non-stop.
Mr Moore: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I have not raised a point of order tonight.
MR SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr Moore, for your observation.
MR DUBY: Mr Speaker, the prosecution rests. I feel that is a prime example of the sort of thing we are talking about. Mr Moore, I think, has been given enough rope to hang himself with, not only in the time of this Government but also in the time of the past. He has got to the stage where anyone who reads the Hansard of this place knows
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