Page 1063 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 March 1991
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MR BERRY: I am interested in providing services to the community and protection of the community in the area of the provision of food. I am also interested in pointing out the Government's failures. I know that that makes the Minister nervous, and so it should. After all, he was the one who promised that all sorts of progressive things would happen in the ACT when they took government, but we all know that that has not been the case.
He has been on a backslide since the word go. Recent evidence about budget blow-outs has demonstrated his incapability of delivering anything progressive, let alone in the area of food.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Berry! Repetition is creeping into your speech and I would ask you to desist from that. Please proceed to the point.
MR BERRY: With respect, Mr Speaker, I had not mentioned before the inability of the Minister to manage budgets having an effect on his inability to provide food legislation, but I think it is most appropriate to do so and therefore it is entirely relevant in the context of this debate. The food legislation which has been put forward by the Labor Party is designed to do something in the Territory, but it has attracted nothing but carping from the Government. We expect that because of their poor performance in the past.
Mr Humphries: You are using your own time, Wayne. You are wasting private members' business.
MR BERRY: Mr Humphries is agitated about it, and so he ought to be. It is a matter of great shame that the government members opposite have not been able to deliver progressive legislation. Congratulations go to Mr Connolly for producing this legislation even though he has had no support for the project from government members.
MR CONNOLLY (11.33), in reply: Mr Speaker, it was very disappointing to hear the Government's response to this Bill. The high water mark of Mr Humphries' assault on this Bill, his most devastating criticism, was to say that all Labor has produced is a stopgap measure. We will take that criticism and turn it into praise. We are pleased to produce a stopgap measure that will provide protection to citizens of this Territory until such time as this comprehensive food legislation, based on the national model, is introduced, because we know how long that will take. We have seen this with the planning legislation. We are now into the second year of waiting for that.
Mr Jensen: You said that we have to get it right, Terry.
MR CONNOLLY: Indeed, that is right, Mr Jensen. It is important to get this important legislation right. We also have seen the Government pass one interim planning Bill and it has another one on the notice paper for this week. It
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