Page 453 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 19 February 1991
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ADJOURNMENT
Motion (by Mr Collaery) proposed:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
Question Time
MR WOOD (11.02): Briefly, I want to comment on a passing reference by Mr Kaine, in his last speech some minutes ago, to the Opposition's tactics at question time. The Opposition's tactics at question time have not changed all this year or in the last year. They are that we should raise matters of importance and ask Ministers to respond. In fact, the only changed tactics at question time today were the Government's tactics, and that arose from the fact that this paper, the daily program, has practically nothing on it. I do not think any daily program in the life of this Assembly has had so little on it. That is the reason that the tactics employed by the Government today were designed to allow question time to go on and on and on.
That is fine. The Opposition had no complaint at all about that. We did not complain about it. We were quite happy for it to go along as it did. Let us point out, however, very clearly, that it was simply a Government tactic to fill up the day. They must then have been very delighted when Mr Moore and Mr Humphries moved their motions concerning the electoral system, because they would have known that that would spark debate and that it would go on further. So the tactics today, such as they were, were to cover up the Government's embarrassment about its very flimsy daily program.
Then, during question time, they suggested that their tactics were intended to embarrass the Opposition. As it turned out, we asked 21 questions today, and if it had gone on another hour we would have asked another 21 questions. The Opposition has no trouble at all raising highly relevant questions that are not always answered, so there is no question about the ability of the Opposition to keep the flow of questions up. Could I encourage you to give us another hour tomorrow and we will ask a further 21 questions. So, you failed miserably today in your tactics.
Let me conclude by saying that it has been a thoroughly bad day for the Government.
Mr Collaery: Ha, ha!
MR WOOD: You should laugh - as manager of government business, if "manager" is the word, might I say.
Mr Connolly: Manager, sic.
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