Page 1186 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 March 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
be introduced this year, as announced. If Mr Connolly had listened carefully to what the Attorney-General just said, he would have heard him say that the matters in the second priority section are matters that may be introduced in this sitting but will certainly be introduced before the end of the year. That is exactly what I said yesterday. If Mr Connolly wants to find something else, he can produce it in Hansard.
Mr Connolly also made reference to the fact that it was the third one on the list in the second priority section under the heading of my name. The order in the list indicates no particular priority within that area. There is no indication that the amendment to the Poisons and Drugs Act will come before the Food Bill, or that the Therapeutic Goods Bill and the amendments to the Radiation Act will necessarily come after the Food Bill. There is no indication at all of any priority within that category merely because it is the third item on the list. It is not alphabetical, but it is roughly alphabetical.
This is a very important document. I should note that it contains more information in terms of priority levels than was the case with the Follett Government's legislative program. We are providing information which we insisted on in 1989 under the previous Government, and we are continuing to make it available as a courtesy to the Assembly as a way of indicating clearly what our program is all about. We can expect, of course, some problems from that. No doubt, the Opposition will run away to their tame drafters and start scurrying away on the drafting of some Bills which they know the Government is about to bring forward but for which they want to somehow take first credit.
That is the risk in tabling a legislative program. But we stand by that process, because it is important to make sure that both the Assembly and the people of the ACT have a chance to understand what it is that this Government is going to do in the course of these next few months.
MR BERRY (3.48): I rise just for a few moments to talk, in particular, about the noble aims of the Government with its autumn program. I have to say that the autumn program is not a long period, and, if we can base the Government's performance on the introduction of legislation on what has happened in the past, then it is unlikely that many of these pieces of legislation will see the light of day.
One other interesting fact in respect of Mr Humphries' Food Bill is that he made it clear that he has not been tick-tacking properly with the Attorney-General. The Minister for Health never does anything in an unequivocal way. He says, "It is likely ..." and "The Food Bill will probably ..." and "I am confident that the Food Bill will make it before the end of the year". But we see that it is way
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .