Page 3706 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 17 October 1990
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MR KAINE (Chief Minister) (11.38): Mr Speaker, my principal comment on the debate this morning is that I am amazed that it was brought on at all, and I have to wonder at the motives of the Leader of the Opposition in bringing it forward because the simple fact is that, as the speakers on this side of the house have said already, there would be very little dissension from the general proposition that Mr Mandela is a great man of his time and that, in fact, as expressed by Dr Kinloch, it is we who are being honoured by his visit to Canberra, not the other way around. There is a universal recognition - perhaps I should qualify that; an almost universal recognition - of the great contributions that this man has made in his lifetime to the concepts of political freedom and social equity for the people of his country.
If this matter had been discussed yesterday off the floor of this house, there would have been no disagreement, I suggest, on the course of action that this Government and this Assembly should have taken. But, of course, the Opposition does not choose to do it that way. The Opposition believes that by bringing this up on the floor of the house it can somehow score a political point and get some sort of cheap point on the board from a few supporters. The fact is that the people from whom members opposite think they are getting support do not support them. They are appalled at the course of action taken by the Opposition in bringing this matter up and turning it into a political debate - which, in fact, degrades the visit of Mr Mandela to the Territory, because the fact is that Mr Mandela is here visiting the Australian Government. He is not coming to visit the ACT Legislative Assembly. He is here as a guest of the Australian Government. But somehow or other the Leader of the Opposition, and the Opposition generally in this place, seek to make some political capital out of that - and, frankly, I am appalled by it.
I think the only question of concern to this Assembly was whether or not it was possible - and, if so, how - for us to honour the visit of this man to the Territory. That could have been done, as I said, off the floor of this house. It could have been decided yesterday. In fact, irrespective of any cooperation by the Leader of the Opposition and her people, action was taken by members of this Government to do something to honour Mr Mandela's visit. That request, that proposal, has been rejected.
Just before I came down here this morning, I received a letter from the Luthuli Group. I did not have time to do anything about it before the Assembly sat, but I would like to read it into the record, Mr Speaker. It is addressed to me as Chief Minister, and it says:
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