Page 4302 - Week 15 - Tuesday, 20 November 1990
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MR BERRY: The issue that is before the house is the adjournment of debate on this matter which is of some import to the community of the ACT. It is important that the Opposition be given adequate time to consider all of the document. This is a debate on the adjournment, I take it?
Mr Jensen: It is on the adjournment of the debate, Wayne.
MR BERRY: I was just looking at the time allocated for the adjournment debate.
Mr Jensen: Do you mean the adjournment of the debate or the adjournment of the Assembly?
MR BERRY: The motion is: That the debate be adjourned.
Mr Humphries: The debate, not the house.
MR BERRY: No, that the debate be adjourned. The Chief Minister has not had the good grace to provide a copy of his speech to the Leader of the Opposition in order that a detailed response could be made in this place to the Government's position on the Estimates Committee report. I think that is a quite gutless approach because it seeks to ensure that there is no criticism of the Government,s position. That is not to say that it will get away with it; but, as a matter of principle, the Government ought to give notice of these things. Just a couple of hours would have done, in order that a response in the Assembly could have been prepared and debate on the issue could have been expedited. It seems to me to be quite outrageous that the Government is playing silly games again on issues such as this. That is why the motion for adjournment has been moved.
MR SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr Berry. The question really is not open to debate. I allowed that to slip through, unfortunately. I did put the question at that time.
Question resolved in the negative.
Mr Moore: Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Moore, would you bring that up at the end of the debate, please.
MR COLLAERY (Attorney-General) (9.17): Mr Speaker, I rise to nail someone. I wonder who it is. I am going to nail someone to his pillar. This member opposite delighted in detaining me and, I think, more than six senior government servants into the late hours to fiddle around in the pursuit of an issue to enable him to go out of the Estimates Committee hearing and create confusion in the public mind and to - - -
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