Page 676 - Week 02 - Thursday, 21 February 1991
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Mr Speaker, there is another issue which I would like to address, and it relates to the motion moved by Mr Collaery. I believe that it is the case that the Standing Committee on Conservation, Heritage and Environment has, in fact, voted not to consider this legislation. I have not heard from members opposite how or whether they are proposing to address that problem. Perhaps Dr Kinloch would like to give us the benefit of the views of the chairman of that committee. I think that to simply pretend, as Mr Collaery's motion does, that that action has not taken place is very wrong. Of course, if that committee persists in the view that it does not wish to consider this legislation, how then is Mr Collaery's motion to be achieved at all?
I would like to hear from Dr Kinloch whether there is, for example, a rescission motion before his committee, or whether he was simply planning to ignore, as the Government appears to be planning to ignore, that motion from the Standing Committee on Conservation, Heritage and Environment. If the Government is choosing to completely ignore that motion, then I think that says all that really needs to be said on the subject of the Government's attitude towards Assembly committees, because it is, in effect, a total denial of the autonomy of that committee, a denial of the view of that committee on this crucial subject.
Mr Speaker, I would like also to add that I think it is very sad indeed that members opposite have chosen to use this debate to canvas issues relating to other committees and, in particular, that Mr Jensen has chosen, by way of interjection and other means, to call on me to resign from the Public Accounts Committee. He alleges, as does Mr Duby, that I have some conflict of interest there. Mr Speaker, that is simply not the case. I have not received from any member opposite any such substantiated allegations, and I think it is very churlish and very snide of them to raise that in the course of debate over the planning committee.
Mr Jensen: A question was asked of you on Tuesday.
MS FOLLETT: Mr Jensen interjects yet again that the question was asked of me on Tuesday. Mr Speaker, if you would bear with me for one moment, Mr Jensen was referring to the Auditor-General's report, which he alleges I have some conflict of interest over. Mr Jensen need read no further than the front cover of that report to see that it relates to the period from July to December 1990.
Mr Jensen: It talks about things before then as well. Read the report.
MS FOLLETT: I have, in fact, read the whole report. If I had been in government during the period from July to December 1990, I must inform the house that it was government in exile. Only a government such as this would allege that I had been. You were in government.
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