Page 4368 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 21 November 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
themselves are once more private members - and that will not be very long. I should repeat what Mr Humphries has said; namely, that, of course, we will remember this when we return to government in 1992, and this will not be lost on us. Your attempts to totally kill off private members' business, the arguments that you have put forward, and your constant seeking to delay and to dominate and to take over private members' business have not gone unnoticed.
Ms Maher: And you are adding to that by just standing up there talking.
MS FOLLETT: I note that Ms Maher has finally had something to say. This is a rare event - and it is a sterling contribution. Mr Deputy Speaker, I have every right to be standing here speaking; it is private members' time, and I am speaking in private members' time.
I say again that what we are seeing here is an attempt by the Government and its lackeys to kill off private members' business in any effective form in this Assembly. It will not go unnoticed and we will certainly be remembering it in the future. We have attempted to meet them halfway in their never-ending quest for further information and further advice. Mr Berry has indicated that, but obviously that was not good enough. What I want to know is: after we have got Mr Prowse's advice and Mr Collaery's advice, what are they going to do next? Which other of these members is going to put in a request for yet more advice? It is a never-ending process. There is no end point in the motion that Mr Collaery has put. There is no timetable on it, nor is there in the process that Mr Prowse has put forward. It is an unacceptable course of action and, as I say, it is an attempt to kill off private members' business in this Assembly.
MR PROWSE (11.20): Mr Deputy Speaker, I was not going to speak in this debate, but I must respond to the Leader of the Opposition's unnecessary remarks. The farcical character she keeps attributing to this Assembly comes from her. Every time she walks out of this Assembly she makes it into a farce. It is her prerogative, she believes, to walk in and out of this Assembly, when there is action on the floor of this house. I believe that those elected to this Assembly should be on the floor for every minute of the day that the Assembly is in business.
Ms Follett continually abuses members for farcical behaviour. If we look at the psychological attitude of people we always recognise a person by the words that person throws at others. If someone always says to you, "He is a liar", you can be assured that that person has a psychological bent towards lying. Anyone citing farcical behaviour at all stages is displaying the farcical behaviour.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .