Page 5112 - Week 17 - Wednesday, 12 December 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Mr Deputy Speaker, the twists and turns in this entire debate could well leave you breathless. I would like to refer members back to 21 November when this matter was first discussed. The issue then was the report from Mr Prowse's committee. That report was under debate, and I would like to refer you to what Mr Kaine said at that time of my colleague Mr Berry, who publicly and on the floor of this Assembly disagreed with aspects of the report. Mr Kaine said of Mr Berry:
He is guilty of politicising the committee, because he alone got up here and took exception to the committee's recommendation.
Who is the guilty party? I would put it to the Assembly that it is Mr Kaine, and he alone, who has attempted to politicise that committee and who has acted, as usual, behind closed doors in an attempt to thwart the recommendations of that committee. Mr Kaine went on, referring to Mr Berry:
He is the one that is politicising it; again, because its view does not coincide with his own, he rejects it.
What has Mr Kaine done? Because the committee's view - twice expressed to him - did not coincide with his own, he has rejected it. That is the view of a committee which is dominated by his own Government colleagues.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I think it is a truly outrageous action that Mr Kaine has taken, and we have to have a look at why he has done it. In this Assembly we have previously seen evidence of his contempt for the committee processes in his efforts to stack the committees, to render them virtually inoperative, by his insistence that they be chaired by people with Executive responsibilities. But I think his action today truly does take the cake. He has just said, "No; I am the Chief Minister. The Assembly can take a back seat. I will say what happens and the committee of my own Government colleagues can just like it or lump it".
I think Mr Kaine has acted from his usual contempt of this Assembly and of its mechanisms. But, of course, his real agenda is to deny private members' business. We saw that again this morning where any excuse, however flimsy, however feeble, however cobbled together while Mr Collaery was on his feet, will suffice for this Government to deny private members' business. Mr Kaine's attempts to thwart the Administration and Procedures Committee in its recommendations are a further attempt to deny private members' business.
I would like members of the Assembly, if they would, to contrast Mr Kaine's actions in regard to the Administration and Procedures Committee's request with some of his other actions. There is no doubt in the mind of anybody in this
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .