Page 5111 - Week 17 - Wednesday, 12 December 1990
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was clear to the Administration and Procedures Committee that the provisions of section 65 were open to interpretation. For that reason, the committee resolved to seek a further opinion from the Commonwealth Attorney-General on this Federal Act. Accordingly, the committee approached the Chief Minister to seek the opinion through the appropriate Commonwealth Minister.
In a letter dated 30 November, the Chief Minister advised the committee that the Executive had decided to seek the advice of a queen's counsel on the matter, and that he believed that it would be appropriate to review the issue of consultation with the Commonwealth, in consultation with the committee, after the queen's counsel's opinion had been received.
Having considered Mr Kaine's response, a strong concern was expressed at the delay in passing on the committee's request. The committee therefore resolved that a message be sent to the Chief Minister, expressing the committee's concern that it had been prevented from full carriage of its responsibilities and requesting that the brief for the advice be forwarded without delay. The Chief Minister has since written to the committee agreeing to forward the brief after the queen's counsel's advice had been received, and informing the committee that the queen's counsel's advice was expected later this week.
The issues raised in this matter of standing orders 200 and 201 and section 65 of the self-government Act are complex and difficult, and the committee respects the Executive's right to seek a third opinion. However, what does concern the committee is the Executive's decision to involve itself with and to impede the committee in its deliberation on this matter. The request was forwarded through the Chief Minister only to ensure that the appropriate protocols were followed. The committee has therefore seen fit to report to the Assembly on the matter, and the report recommends that the Assembly call on the Chief Minister to forward the committee's request forthwith. I commend the report to the Assembly.
MS FOLLETT (Leader of the Opposition) (4.09): I am outraged by the need for this report, Mr Deputy Speaker, as I think all members of this Assembly ought to be, because it indicates quite clearly the contempt for this Assembly and its committees that is held by the current Chief Minister, Mr Kaine. The fact is that the view of this Assembly and of its committee has been made abundantly clear to the Government since 21 November and an attempt to thwart that view has been made by Mr Kaine. It is a question of which body has supremacy - this Assembly or that Government - and the answer, of course, has to be this Assembly. It is simply not open to the Government, let alone to one member of it, to deny the will of the Assembly and to deny the Assembly's committee full carriage of its responsibilities. That is what we have seen here, and I think all members should view that fact with extreme seriousness.
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